Shadow Hand
H O U S E Z A M B R A N O
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: Flesh out the family we've been writing for years.
- Image Credit:
- Click
- Edits by Darth Tacitus
- Links: N/A
- Organization Name: House Zambrano
- Classification: Imperial Family
- Loyalties: Sith Empire | Kyantkoshûjontû
- Organization Symbol: The symbol of House Zambrano is the Eye of Solomon, an eye in the center of a stylized sun. It represents first their connection to the dark side through the Sith eye. It can also be represented through the waves of the sun acting like dark side tendrils. The addition of the sun was made also as a representation of the Zambrano’s dominion over the cosmos.
- Description: The Zambrano Family is an extremely powerful noble house whose line dates back to the Old Republic. They are the ruling Sith Dynasty, at the head of a vast stellar empire, their assets spread across the galaxy.
- Headquarters:
- Realm:
- Ruling Family of the New Sith Empire - Uncontested
- Ruling Family of the Black Empire - Uncontested
- Rulers of the Pacanth Reach - Uncontested
Notable Assets:
- Bastion
- Dromund Kaas
- Fornow
- Khar Delba
- Korriban
- Onderon
- Panatha
- Thule
- Vendaxa
- Other
SOCIAL INFORMATION
- Hierarchy:
- Saziliebm: Saziliebm translated means Sovereign. This title is reserved for the absolute lord of House Zambrano, the leaders of the whole Zambrano Empire and all it possesses belongs to the Saziliebm who hold absolute authority over the family. Presently there are two who hold the title: Darth Carnifex, and Darth Prazutis.
- Qyiim Camrald: Loosely translated to Queen Consort, the wives of the Saziliebm hold this title as the leading ladies of House Zambrano. While largely ceremonial in nature this title bestows upon them massive sway, and wide ranging authority over the family, second to only the Saziliebms.
- Plemvi / Plemviir: These are the Prince and Princesses of House Zambrano, the sons and daughters born to the Saziliebm destined to inherit the vast wealth, territories, and kingdom of House Zambrano. This title gives a degree of influence allowing them a place in the royal quarters of House Zambranos many castles, it's authority is directly defined by the Sovereigns. In the very least all those who hold this rank are typically entitled to a Crownguard escort.
- Cayremr / Ninuivr: Cousins and Nephews these are the distant relations of House Zambrano, their influence over the family as a whole is typically next to none. If anything they are paid a monthly tithe by the family as a whole, and are given lands provided as a reward for their contributions to the family.
- Bordolkr: The illegitimate children or Bastards of powerful figures in the family most notably the Sovereigns, they are entitled to nothing. They can be made legitimate by the Sovereigns however.
- Silzomdr / Ssozir: Those who serve the family as both Servants or Slaves.
- Membership: There are many ways to join House Zambrano the main methods are through marriage, or birth. The third is through recruitment and service in one of their vast military forces, cults, intelligence agencies. The agents of the Zambrano Family are spread far and wide across the galaxy.
- Influence: The Zambrano Family holds almost absolute control over the New Sith Empire and the Pacanth Reach as their ruling family, but also maintains considerable influence within the criminal underworld and several Mandalorian Clans such as the Fetts, Munins, and Vizslas.
- Climate: Though its reputation as some of the most barbarous butchers, tyrants, and sadists to ever walk, the inside of the family is actually somewhat pleasant. In the core is the Zambrano family itself who are an actual blood family. There is a very healthy amount of distrust, and competition within House Zambrano. In the family everyone is required to put in work and contribute in some fashion. No matter how wealthy or powerful the family gets the many times that they have fallen into ruin over the ages sticks close in their hearts. While they are an ambitious bunch they have learned from the mistakes of the past. Despite the competition they are a family bound by blood and they support each other and are willing to go far for one another. Discipline can be harsh within the family and youth are taught early on how what they have can easily be taken away. Everyone does their part and those who break the rules are punished. Over the great game of position and prestige is a group that collectively works together to further the interests of the family at all costs and to bring up the next generation.
- Reputation: Infamous
- Rules: Above all else House Zambrano values loyalty to one another. Many in the galaxy would gladly wipe them out if given the chance and through a unified front they can take on all threats. While competition is encouraged among the family there is a limit to just how far it can go, and infighting is not permitted. In addition the family is firmly aligned with the dark side of the force a darkness that flows through their very veins. No member of the House is allowed to use the light side in any form, and they adhere to the Sith code. Everyone is to do their part and inheritance is not assured if you contribute nothing you will get nothing. The key to the family's dominance is how it works together each individual bringing power, prestige, and influence to the family. Lastly a recent addition during the reign of Kaine Zambrano is that incest is completely banned.
- Doctrines: The heart of the Zambrano doctrine is in their family motto “The strong do what they will and the weak suffer what they must”. One thing that can be said about Zambranos is they are an iron-willed, stubborn, determined group that is nearly impossible to stop once they set their mind to something. Zambrano history is filled with stories of ancestors who began with nothing only to scratch and claw their way to dominance.
In the Zambrano Family, there is no easy way out, no self-entitled brats looking to inherit the kingdom based on how old they are. Everyone must earn their place in the family in order to have anything of note, in order to achieve any level of access that earns them the “perks” of having the family's name. In order to achieve any level of recognition, one needs to prove themselves in the eyes of their family. Those who dare to slip will be tossed out for there is no room for weaklings in this family.
The members of House Zambrano are staunch followers of the modern Sith-Imperial philosophy, and are dark side aligned by default and abhor the light in all forms. But the Zambrano Family isn't naïve they understand the way of the universe how the wheel keeps spinning and the tides keep changing. They seek to perpetuate conflict and keep the galaxy locked into a cycle of endless war, with them sitting firmly on the throne of galactic dominion. - Goals:
- Keep the galaxy locked in perpetual conflict
- Complete domination over all life in the galaxy
- Destruction of the Light
- Darth Carnifex
- Darth Prazutis
- Vylythis Zambrano
- Vigdis Zambrano
- Saijo Taal-Zambrano
- Servelus Zambrano
- Vardun Zambrano
- Kassandra Zambrano
- Adrastia Zambrano
- Azira Zambrano
- Asara Zambrano
- Izaszh Zambrano
- Salara Zambrano
- Theryna Zambrano
- Ara Zambrano
- Kaya Zambrano-Ticon
- Reid Zambrano-Ticon
- Izevel Zambrano
- Pravus Zambrano
- Venthis Zambrano
- Moravian Zambrano
- Enoch Zambrano
- Vandra Zambrano
- Evaelyn Zambrano
- Joycelyn Zambrano
- Eve Amelia Zambrano
- Judas Zambrano
- Lara Zambrano
- Abaddon Zambrano
- Trakel Zambrano
- Vivienne Zambrano
- Invicta Zambrano
- Elani Zambrano
- Slade Zambrano
- Zambrano the Hutt
- Kahlil Zambrano
- Ahani Zambrano
- Svarin Noimare
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The lore of the Zambrano Family is flooded with so much rumor, myth, and speculation as their galactic fame and dominion over the cosmos has increased and their legend has grown that the truth is nearly impossible to find. But locked deep within the vaults of the family’s most well protected strongholds lies the truth. The very first mentions of ‘Zambrano’ came thousands of years in the past during the time of the Old Republic and the rise of one of the greatest Dark Lords who ever lived Vitiate. It all began with story of a man by the name of Vulturii Zambrano also known as Vulturii the Slave. Vulturii was an Epicanthix born on the remote world of Panatha, to a mother who died during childbirth and a father who was killed during a duel and left his son with his substantial debt. Vulturii had nothing but his name yet he still endured, he was always forward thinking always looking to the horizon and the life he wanted. Vulturii joined the gladiatorial arenas as a gladiator and thrived in the fighting circuit, often earning the name of the Dreamer because to peers and rivals the life he envisioned for himself was nothing but a dream for those born in such poverty. The ridicule only hardened his resolve, making him even more determined to succeed. Vulturii became a fighting champion and was well known for doing the impossible, the occasional “miracle” happening during his matches.
Vulturii would have his chance at a better life when the Sith Empire found their way to his world and began recruiting his people as soldiers and intelligence agents, well sought after for their immunity to mind tricks. He was specifically recruited after these agents witnessed one of his miracles and discovered his strong force sensitivity, he readily accepted the chance to learn about this gift he had and was sent to the Sith Academy on Korriban. It was a new beginning for him and to commemorate the occasion he took up a new name, forever would he be known as Vulkanus Zambrano. As a man with no family, nothing to lose, and everything to gain he thrived in the intensely competitive environment. He absorbed the teachings of his masters like a vacuum quickly rising to the top of his class, a true prodigy. Vulkanus success only grew after his true induction into the Empire where his success in war propelled him up through the ranks, and his growing hunger for knowledge introduced him to the darker, arcane aspects of the force in sith magic and alchemy. He even achieved a seat on the Dark Council. It was around then that he was introduced to his future wife Kataryna. The two met when she was assigned to him and the connection between them was evident right from the start. It only grew as time passed and they were together before long, married shortly after with two children Arkanus and Ramasu. But Vulkanus ultimately was faced with the choice that every Sith Lord faces if he wants true power, the price.
He began to gather more and more dark, forbidden knowledge of ancient arcane arts and rituals, knowledge so vile his soul darkened by setting his mere eyes on them. But in order to achieve true power and climb even higher in the hierarchy of the Sith he needed to pay the price. To give himself mind, body and soul to the dark side, to give away everything including the ability to feel physical sensations and more he would need to pay. But his love for Kataryna burned just as bright as his devotion to the Sith and he would not give her up for his dark pursuits. So instead he locked up his reservoir of knowledge in a forbidden vault far removed from galactic events on his homeworld of Panatha in the Shadowlands of uncharted Panatha. It was far enough away to resist its temptations and it remained there while he split time between his family and the empire. That was until tragedy struck. Kataryna was killed by the Republic during the war and he wasn’t able to protect her even with his abilities. The loss of his wife shattered his stable mind as part of him faded away. She was the only thing that held back the darkness and kept him grounded. He cracked open his vault and absorbed the knowledge he locked within harnessing the raw power of the darkness. It was during this turbulent time that the first semblance of the infamous Zambrano cruelty was put on display. Vulkanus the Mad they called him as he destroyed rivals and jedi alike, his concern for human life fading.
Vulkanus levied harsh criticism on his sons who each went their own way with Arkanus joining the ranks of the Sith, and Ramasu a bounty hunter and mercenary. Vulkanus was unforgiving and borderline cruel with his sons especially when it came to their failings, seeing Ramasu as an incompetent fool who shirked his own destiny, he was closer to his older son Arkanus however who began to follow in his father’s footsteps. But his connection to his children paled in his pursuits of power. Despite his strength Vulkanus never could crack the secret of immortality and struggled with the corruption of the dark side. Toward the end of his life Vulkanus focused on the foundation of his legacy through the creation of a holocron, the relocation of all of his possessions and stores of knowledge to his vault back on Panatha and spread rumors about its famed location. Vulkanus wanted to ensure that his legacy was there if someone had the strength, the will to scratch and claw their way just like he did to the greatest heights of power and glory. He also focused on the foundation of his tomb. To honor his wife’s last wishes he instructed his sons to create the tomb on Dromund Kaas so far beneath the surface of Kaas City that no earthly calamity could ever harm it. He died before the tomb was fully completed succumbing to the corruption. He was entombed alongside his wife and his sons finished the defenses before sealing their father inside.
In the void of their parents Arkanus and Ramasu were left alone with only each other to face the world. But they were prepared. Arkanus was a fully trained warrior of the Sith Order and a devout follower of the more militant ways of his father. Arkanus was brilliant, a natural born leader, as well as being cold, calculating, and ruthless. But his brother was a different story. Ramasu suffered under their fathers harsh teachings and diverged from his brother even further since the death of their mother. He was the troublemaker of the two who squandered his fortune and spent his time as a bounty hunter and a mercenary, often getting himself into trouble that was too much for him to handle causing his brother to get involved time and time again. But still the bond of family remained even as Arkanus continued to further the cause of the Sith and grow in power. Arkanus however was held back by his foolish brother who continued to take increasing risks and resented his own brother for the love Arkanus received from their father. The divide grew between the two until it could no longer be ignored and Ramasu began taking contracts against the Sith. Arkanus hunted and finally confronted his brother on his betrayal of everything the family had stood for.
Ramasu laughed in his face. It was the final straw that unleashed a storm, one held back and brewing beneath the surface through years of resentment. Arkanus tore his brother to pieces and choked the life out of him, watching the light fade from his eyes, entombing him alongside his parents. Arkanus paid the price that his father never could and cut the weakness out of him early on in his prime. He grew to become a powerful Sith Lord known for his exploits stemming in mass sacrifice, as well as his pursuit of ritual magic. Arkanus was able to achieve what his father never could and unlocked the secrets of immortality through detaching his spirit from his body and transferring it into another form. He recorded everything he learned in his father's forbidden vault adding to the collection and completing any unfinished thoughts in his father's writing.
Arkanus however had taken to the home he never knew and elected to stay when he found that his abilities could give him a supreme advantage over the worlds denizens. In the capital city of Canthar he met the beautiful Yara Luctacus, only daughter of the current Luctacus King. Yara was known as the “Man-Eater” a woman who played the game of politics better than most men, and enjoyed manipulating others who were ensorcelled by her wiles. Yara was the prize in a tournament thrown by the Luctacus family to marry her to the greatest warrior, and foster a new family of heirs. This intrigued the Sith Lord and he joined the tournament under certain conditions. First if he won she would not only marry him but take his name, second he would be granted a lordship of his own. He also boasted that not only would he fight without weapons or armor but he wouldn’t be so much as touched by any other fighter. The King was so intrigued by the proposal that he took him up on his offer, thinking the man mad.
He was wrong. Arkanus annihilated the competition with the force as his ally and his boast proved painfully true when he effortlessly killed his opponent in the championship bout. House Zambrano was born through the union between Arkanus and Yara. In Arkanus the ruthless Yara found a true partner to spend her life with, someone just as devious as her with an ambition that matched her own. Arkanus and Yara both died in quick succession each living to the astounding age of a hundred and seventy, with Arkanus being buried back in his family's tomb on Dromund Kaas. Through their exploits the Zambrano's became the most dominant house and the greatest sworn family to the Luctacus Kings for over three thousand years.
This was considered to be the golden age for the family where many of its members broke out and accomplished great things, creating new organizations and bringing prestige to the family. These were individuals like Artur Zambrano who forged the great Crimson Skull Cartel that held dominion over a swath of territory south in the Outer Rim, Luria Zambrano that went on to become the Crowmother, a significant information broker in the criminal underworld, Cyric Zambrano who founded the Trihexilon Corporation, a reputable arms manufacturer that supplied galactic nations, worlds, and organizations with the means to wage war, Renault Zambrano who founded Blackscar Slavers and began capturing and dealing in slaves even of his own people. This era also saw the likes of Castus the Creator whose architectural wonders still stand, and clever inventions improved quality of life for all Epicanthix.
But the family still remained at the side of House Lucatus in a lavish estate built near Prethia. The dark side teachings of Arkanus were passed from father to son and each would use their gifts to their advantage, enforcing the family’s position and growing larger in strength. That was until the reign of Uldric Zambrano. Uldric became the heir of the Zambrano family after his older brother was killed during a hunting accident alongside the Luctacus family, and immediately began his training. He was always an ambitious youth who always blamed the death of his brother on them creating a deep resentment for the Luctacus family. This resentment grew as he developed into a stronger user of the dark side becoming an arrogant, spiteful individual with an explosive temper. The power at his fingertips gave him the means to go far and the turbulent emotions brewing within and an inability to control them made him volatile. This finally culminated in the Zambrano-Luctacus Civil War also known as Uldric’s Folly.
Uldric rose up in open rebellion against the House Luctacus and current King Gelid Luctacus, killing two of his three sons and both of his daughters in a devastating ambush and kidnapping the surviving Luctacus heir. House Zambrano was large and powerful with many political and military allies in the other city states, fracturing the world's military into two separate factions in loyalists and rebels. They fought in each city state block by block to gain ground over the other. In the beginning Uldric’s forces earned a series of lightning victories due to the hesitation of the King putting his last surviving child at risk. House Zambrano captured Qocia the spiritual capital of Panatha and Prethia, as well as launching a siege of Canthar itself. Gelid Luctacus however wouldn’t bend the knee or allow the loss of his family to weaken his resolve. Instead the King played on the arrogance of his opponent and challenged him to a duel for the crown outside the gates of Canthar itself. Uldric readily accepted the offer to embarrass his lesser opponent who held no skill in the force. The duel began as expected with Uldric handily beating Gelid senseles breaking numerous bones including one of his legs.
But instead of finishing Gelid the Zambrano chose instead to humiliate him in front of the whole Empire, to ridicule him for his failures and ride on the tide of success. This was a big mistake. Gelid was very smart and played on his opponents arrogance by deceiving him into thinking his injuries were worse than he thought, leaving Uldric to lower his guard. Then he struck hard and fast just as his back was turned taking him down and killing him for all to see. When Uldric died the rebels fell apart with many flocking back to the loyalists. Gelid was enraged at the actions of House Zambrano, he formally disbanded the noble house and cast them out seizing all lands, titles, holdings, assets. In one fell swoop House Zambrano and the legacy of Arkanus was gone, for the first time since the days of Vulkanus the family had nothing but the rags on their back and the name they clung so desperately to. To make matters worse Uldric died without passing on the teachings to his children causing the family to lose their birthright.
For the next thousand years they managed to survive just barely making it day to day, trying to slip back into the shadows of obscurity and wash off the shame of Uldric. They became a family of mercenaries and bounty hunters who would do any job for the highest bidder, as long as it paid they would do it. The black stain of Uldric and the still burning hatred of House Luctacus ensured that the family was barred from gaining any degree of power or influence on their homeworld, and they were avoided by most of the nobility for fear of how the Luctacus would respond. They were left with hardly any friends and a crippling debt from the immense losses from Uldric’s Rebellion. It wouldn’t be until the days of the Clone Wars that the Zambrano family rose to prominence once again.
Jarex Zambrano also known as Jarex the Redeemer was born into obscurity in the city state of Prethia with a voracious hunger for adventure that was plagued by avarice. The Zambrano family was plagued with crippling poverty and Jarex was born with just a name to call his own, but a bright omen for the future was that the Zambrano’s were no longer indebted to anyone. Jarex was gifted with strength and astonishing fighting ability, as well as a gift to quickly adapt in combat. There was nothing for him back home but poverty and a growing hunger for adventure burned within his heart, he finally gave into it and left his home for good. Jarex began his career as a bounty hunter. He openly fought for the Separatist Alliance and scored many kills on Republic soldiers and officers during the war, raking in a good quantity of wealth for his family back on Panatha and being known as one of the most reliable mercenaries on their payroll, as well as becoming renowned as a Jedi killer.
Due to his Separatist payroll the Zambrano's were able to rise through obscurity and pull themselves from nothing, out of squalor and become moderately wealthy once again. They built a new large, sprawling estate up in the Iron Mountains just south of Prethia called the Dreadfort. This newfound wealth and influence allowed them to curry political favors from the nobles of Prethia. Jarex brought to bear the skills he learned from many businessmen in the Separatist Alliance to bear on the political battlefield and maneuvered his way into ruling Prethia and swindling away the wealth and assets of their rivals. Jarex brought never before seen wealth, as well as great prosperity to Prethia encouraging independence out of its youth and promoting them to follow their dreams beyond a life as a warrior, to learn other skills.
During the Clone Wars Jarex was able to learn from his contractors in the Separatist Alliance and was able to flood his lands with wealth through shrewd business tactics learned from the Skakoans of the Techno Union, fooling other city-states into lucrative one sided trade deals. He was able to successfully taking them to court when they tried to renege on their contracts and use his control over the worlds valuable ore and mineral mines to influence other city-states into submitting to his deals. When Jarex finally passed away during the night after overcoming illness he did so with a smile on his face. Once more House Zambrano stood among the nobility and his efforts to wipe the black stain of shame on his family’s name and earn redemption had succeeded. After Jarex passed away a great statue was built in his other in the epicenter of Prethia that stood for centuries, and he became known as Jarex the Redeemer. Due to the efforts of Jarex his children inherited a strong, wealthy city-state that would prosper especially after the turbulent period of civil war that saw the Luctacus family ousted from their throne and the beginning of King Desiderius Veturias of Cropis famous hundred year reign.
A legend was born during this peaceful period that would stand the test of time. Once in a generation there was a rare lunar occurrence with Panatha’s moon, an eclipse that caused it to appear blood red called the Bloodmoon. The BLoodmoon was of deeply religious significance and directly related to the chief god Nereus, and it was considered to be a very good omen and there was widespread celebrations during the Bloodmoon. It was during the Bloodmoon that Magnus Zambrano was born, the eldest child of Maekar and Viserra. He had many brothers and sisters in Torgon, Harkon, Daemon, Vaella, and Nadira. It became evident from the very beginning that Magnus was cut from a different cloth than the others beyond the circumstances of his birth. First and foremost Magnus was far above average in size for an epicanthix easily exceeding nine feet tall when he reached the age of maturity, often seen as superhuman or even god blooded by his fellow epicanthix. As a child Magnus was considered by many to be an intellectual prodigy with a voracious hunger for knowledge and an advanced learning ability that allowed him to pick up topics quickly.
Magnus was always extremely serious and rarely warm and did not participate in any of the friendly joking and horseplay that his siblings did often known as “The Boy Who Never Smiles”. He was extremely aggressive, dominant, a natural born leader, and unbelievably competitive in virtually everything he did. Nothing Magnus did was without a reason and every waking moment was spent constructively be it training, studying, shadowing his father in his day to day activities as the ruling Lord of Prethia to prepare himself for the day that he would inevitably take over. As he grew in age Magnus became known as the deadliest fighter in all of Prethia after beating every potential contender first in the arena, and becoming the youngest individual to join the annually held games in Canthar that was joined by the best champions from each city state. Magnus received worldwide recognition after crushing the competition to be the youngest to claim the title of Grand Champion after slaying beast and man alike with his famous, gargantuan greatsword that he effortlessly swung.
However tragedy struck the family shortly after when Magnus’s father died from a terrible illness, and he became Lord of Prethia. Magnus wasted no time in making significant improvements to the city-states military using the valuable ore they mined to turn them into the best equipped, best trained, and disciplined fighting force on the planet. He appointed his siblings to positions throughout the city-state with Torgon, Harkon, and Daemon as his army generals, Vaella held the position of Vizier in charge of the state affairs, and Nadira oversaw the business interests of their home. As a leader his unique gifts of charisma were put on display, as he was able to inspire and electrify others. It was said that Magnus was such a good speaker that he could inspire a routing force to face impossible odds just from his voice alone. He held great influence with King Veturias and was the most powerful lord of the five city states.
The reign of Magnus began on good footing and had a bright future after he and his wife Valerica Zambrano had their first children Solomon and Talia. They each inherited their father's imposing size with Solomon as the spitting image of his father when he was young, and Talia possessing an unearthly beauty and natural beautiful white hair and milky pale skin, she stood like an amazonian goddess. Solomon and Talia were both trained by Magnus and put through an incredibly harsh training regimen that pushed them to the absolute limit, and just like their father they thrived and became deadly fighters. Solomon and Talia had an incredibly harsh childhood and received little warmth from their parents under the ways of their father whose demeanor wasn’t softened by fatherhood. They spent a good deal of time together and became very close, even developing affection for one another.
This secret, forbidden affection between the two caused trouble for the family as Magnus struggled to find suitors to marry his daughter. It was a known custom to join houses and foster better relations through political marriage, and House Zambrano found offers from nearly every great and minor house. However each attempt to marry his daughter was met in death or tragedy for her suitor, usually to some sort of accident or event that seemed beyond the control of the family. Unbeknownst to even their own family Solomon and Talia orchestrated the deaths to remain together. Just like his father Solomon became the second Zambrano to become a Grand Champion, and alongside Talia were the best fighting team.
The affection between their children went unnoticed by Magnus and Valerica. Magnus was embroiled in the cold war of court politics by the other noble houses under Veturias. While the Zambrano’s position was absolute each other house especially the once great Luctacus were trying to climb by any means necessary. They wouldn’t dare risk open confrontation with Magnus and his army however. Magnus was viewed by many to be an honorable man who stuck by King Veturias and his court even though he disliked all of them, including the King who hung on his word, and could’ve claimed the title of King himself. It’s widely believed especially through first hand accounts of those who were there however that Magnus was growing more frustrated with each passing day, and that his play for power was inevitable.
Late in the reign of King Veturias a conflict would break out that would change both the course of history, and the Zambrano family forever: the Fanalis War. The Fanalis were a feline race of strong warriors that had been slaves of the Epicanthix for countless generations. Due to the imperialist influences that changed society even after the fall of the Galactic Empire’s government everything finally boiled over due to the exceptionally harsh treatment. It began with what was called the Fanalis Rebellions, a slow process that truly began among the deadly seafaring corsairs of Khedal. Khedal was home to the reputable House Tamas was host to the largest navy on Panatha. Back during this age the oceans were dominated by a host of monstrous sea faring predators massive bull sharks averaging sixty feet long weighing in at around sixty tons, titanic serpent predators called Sea Leviathan among the most aggressive predators to swim the oceans. It was often said you were either incredibly brave or crazy to sail the waters with hyper aggressive monsters with enough strength to sink entire ships.
The fleets of each city-state were usually very small at best if they had any, but Khedal was different. They were famous for their seafaring corsairs and the center for sea trade on the planet. The bulk of the army of Khedal was in the Blackmoor Marsh assisting House Decius in putting down an isolated Fanalis insurrection that had grown out of control, leaving only a token force back home. This was when the organized network of Fanalis rose up on Khedal its entire slave population overpowered their oppressors and killed those who resisted, seizing control of the island and forcing House Tamas into hiding, the first time in thousands of years that a city-state had fallen. The Fanalis had organized their rebellion under the black and red striped Warlord Rajar One-Eye, a slave who had lost his entire family at the hands of their masters cruelty. Rajar cut off the Tamas army from their home and manned the very ships they broke their backs building.
They sailed to Gekha next before news could spread and under cover of darkness Rajar slaughtered several guards starting the rebellion in Gekha. When the forces of House Luctacus moved to respond and crush the rebellion they were ambushed by Rajar’s army from the opposite side. They were faced with an enemy united under one goal, bound through shared strife and inflamed with hope of freedom, the losses were so bad that House Luctacus was forced to make a full retreat and cede the Lasian Riverlands to Warlord One-Eye. Now with the oceans and the bread basket under their control, the Fanalis could keep their forces supplied and they could outmaneuver their opponents using the same sea faring techniques they were able to learn from the corsairs of Khedal, the Fanalis War had begun in earnest.
Under Rajar’s leadership the enemy was harassed from all sides by rebellions, Qocia was powerless to respond with their own forces forced to remain at home to keep the peace. Fear had begun to spread of the legend of One-Eye and his barbaric, merciless warriors and how two sitting houses suffered losses and were forced out of power. Canthar had managed to fully subjugate the Fanalis under the forces of King Veturias united with House Luctacus, Decius, Tamas, and Sehat and begun to plan their response. Battle lines were drawn across the Lasian Riverlands and the border of Blackmoor Marsh, the enemy had begun invading from all sides and they could no longer hold it cut off from supplies and ambushed from all sides by the fanalis who controlled the bulk of their navy, while House Sehat remained absent from the field and unable to participate. One-Eye was winning and had his enemy boxed in and robbed of hope, he made all of the right moves.
Until the rebellion of Prethia.
There was an extensive presence of fanalis in the north that mined the precious ores beneath the surface. The rebellion began first in the mines and begun to spread to the slave quarters. Guards moved to respond to quell the riot when the first attacks came, and several died in the ensuing brawl. However before more could respond a stray round was fired from the part of the mining lasers carried by the slaves, and struck the Lady Valerica Zambrano while she was inspecting the mines. It was something that the family did personally and Valerica had gone that day instead of Magnus. She was killed almost immediately and word quickly spread like wildfire while the rebellion grew.
It was the biggest mistake that they ever made.
When word spread to Lord Magnus he exploded into a violent rage, a mixture of anger and grief filled the ranks of the Zambrano family as Lord Magnus rode down from the keep alongside his children an army at their back. The full might of Magnus the Red came crashing down on the slaves. It was that very day that he earned the moniker of Magnus the Red from the crimson armor he wore into battle, the man slaughtering a hundred slaves single handed. They butchered the fanalis in droves, the world looked upon the battle in shock as Magnus not only ended the rebellion but took a hundred lives for every single one of his men that were killed. When the smoke cleared the uprising were so thoroughly crushed that there wasn’t a single disturbance from the slaves for the remainder of the war.
House Zambrano joined the war together as one with the entire family at his side, Magnus rode for Qocia at the head of a cavalry force mounted on Kral’in Montaj. They rode through the streets of embattled Qocia and slaughtered every slave who so much as stood with weapon in hand, then rode into the camps and killed until begged with hands raised. A legend began to spread about the Giant of the North whose body ran with the blood of Nereus, or that Magnus was an avatar of the god sent to help them in their time of need. Magnus then turned his army south.
The forces of House Zambrano linked up with the Kings army that remained on the defensive against their numerically superior enemy, and Magnus joined the deliberating nobles with the now relieved House Sehat. But they were gridlocked with indecision and fear, the enemy had robbed them of their hope and the cause looked grim. Magnus rode out on his own and smashed into the battle lines of his enemy day after day atop massive beasts, carving a path of blood and gore across the landscape. The Epicanthix watched as Magnus the Red won battle after battle, skirmish after skirmish. He rode against the Fanalis night after night until his very presence on the battlefield was enough to send their enemy fleeing before the Zambrano Family and what they called the Riders of Nightmare.
Magnus single handedly liberated Cropis after marching against an army that outnumbered him ten to one and mercilessly crushed them no matter what they tried to do. The legend of Magnus the Red the war hero, the conqueror, the god-blooded had spread to every corner of Panatha. He gave hope back to the people that they could truly win this war, and instilled absolute terror into his enemy. Due to his victories Magnus was named the Supreme Commander of the United Army by King Veturias and under his leadership they marched against the Lasian Riverlands to retake Gekha and break the back of Warlord One-Eye’s army by cutting off its supply line.
Warlord Rajar One-Eye and his personal warband joined the defense of Gekha determined to kill this giant that was heralded by his enemy as a ‘hero’ a ‘savior’, and break enemy morale singlehanded. What happened next was a battle that changed the course of history: the Battle of the Lasian Riverlands. Rajar was blinded to logic and reason by his enemy and determined to kill him in single combat, marched his forces out to meet them on the open field. The best warriors of the fanalis slammed against the battle hardened, elite legion of House Zambrano. Magnus waded into battle with Solomon by his side while Talia guided their forces into the flanks. Deep in the thick of the feline horde father and son found the One-Eye himself, and engaged him in combat. It was a stalemate at first with neither side giving ground, Rajar was enraged and desperate with nothing to live for making him a dangerous enemy, but he stood against two towering behemoths that were some of the best fighters to ever step into the gladiatorial arenas and come out champions.
However Rajar still had tricks up his sleeve and played the two giants against each other. This caused a horrific accident by causing Magnus to accidentally strike and horribly cripple his own son in the heat of battle. This intending on striking at the heartstrings of Magnus instead had the opposite effect, proving to be the last fatal mistake he ever made. Magnus struck fast and hard knocking the hulking warrior to his knees, before slicing his head off and raising it before the remaining beasts in Rajar’s army. The sight of their great savior cut down broke the morale of the remaining forces causing a full scale rout. It became a bloodbath seared into the memory of the Fanalis as Lord Magnus gave the order declaring no prisoners would be taken, slaughtering the entire force and cementing Magnus the Red in history as his people’s savior.
It also sealed his fate.
In the aftermath of the bloodbath in the riverlands Magnus was faced with his son who had been horribly crippled due to the actions of One-Eye and struggled with walking let alone fighting. It doomed his once promising son to a life of mockery, scorn, as a weak cripple, at his own blade. Magnus was known to be a hardline believer in that cripples and cowards, among others had no place among his family. Magnus pulled his son in front of the assembled army and declared his decision to exile his son. When he asked for any who might object not a single person stood at Solomon’s side besides his sister who was powerless to stop what was coming. Despite pleas from his entire family, even his own son Magnus was unflinching as he made a decision that would come to be the biggest mistake of his life: Solomon was exiled.
As the decision came down something changed in the young Solomon part of him dying in the utter betrayal of his father, a darkness swept over his mind and out of it the true monster buried deep beneath the surface came to light. It was an event lauded by many to be the final straw that unleashed the monster Solomon was destined to be. The youmg man’s deep emerald eyes suddenly burned with hatred so deep, so intense it disturbed most who witnessed the event. Solomon was dragged out by guards as he yelled about promises of vengeance, promises that he would return and unleash death and destruction on those who stood against him. While at the time the promises of annihilation were dismissed out of hand as rambling of a soon to be dead man, no-one knew just how true his claims would be.
After exiling his son Magnus ended the war by retaking Khedal and crushing the last bastion of resistance, he was named as the King’s hand and chief advisor in all affairs and rewarded with the highest honors. It was a position he held for a short time until King Desiderius Veturias grew ill and finally died without producing an heir leaving the throne vacant for the first time in history. After his death contenders from all across the planet assembled in the palace at Canthar including House Decius, Luctacus, Sehat, Tamas, and Zambrano to decide who would ascend the throne. Magnus’s name was chanted in every major city-state as the entire population had already chosen their legendary hero, as their one true King. Magnus strode the hall in complete silence in his iconic crimson armor and stood before the throne.
So great was his legendary status that very few dared to stand against his appointment. Magnus had grown so popular across the world especially with the common soldier that it was feared in a civil war the legions would rise in open rebellion of their liege lords if ordered to fight Magnus. Magnus cut down the lords of the Luctacus, and Decius lines right in the throne room after they dared to challenge him. Magnus became the first Zambrano to rule as King of the Epicanthix, and the first northern King to ascend the throne that day.
The rule of Magnus was at the time the most prosperous in history as Magnus built monumental works, instituting revolutionary changes and doing things no other King had been able to do. Magnus abolished the system of individual armies forbidding houses to maintain more than a personal guard breaking down city barriers, creating the United Panathan Military including an army, and a navy branch as well as mandating military service when the age of adulthood is reached. Magnus led the united military in a savage culling of the oceans of Panatha to cut down the populations of the savage predators and tame the wild oceans. It was a bloody event that ended in victory allowing Magnus to establish ocean trade routes making the waters safe to sail and creating a great navy to patrol the waters.
He was the first King to establish the Order of the Crownguard Knights, the royal guard of the King after an attempted assassination early on in his reign proved that he was strong but not invincible. The King’s savior Arcturus Bruul, the lord of a a minor house sworn to the Zambranos was named Lord Commander of the new Crownguard. Magnus rebuilt each city-state from the damage it suffered during the war even bigger than they stood before, and was chiefly responsible for many architectural marvels including the Grand Colosseum most of which either still stand, or stood for hundreds of years. The reign of Magnus the Great was widely considered to be a golden age by historians.
It was the desire of Magnus to break down the power that noble houses held and unite the whole reach in an Empire with a centralized government, and a system that worked seamlessly and was protected from the overly ambitious nobility and the politicians. Magnus ushered in a peaceful and prosperous age.
Until the past came back to haunt him.
After he was exiled in utter disgrace the horribly crippled Solomon Zambrano was left alone in his home’s hostile wilderness left to die. The tragic events twisted the youth’s mind unleashing something truly monstrous, an inner beast that remained locked beneath the surface. He was never the same after those events. Vengeance burned on Solomon’s mind as the betrayal of his father played out over and over in his mind. Solomon was determined to survive, and thrive. But Solomon wouldn’t stop at just vengeance he wanted everything. The only direction the young man had was the ancient legends that circulated about his family, and the kernels of truth that remained of their obscure path.
Rumors had circulated for thousands of years about the ancient vault of lost knowledge, and the divine power that the Zambrano family had once lost. All information both rumor and truth pointed towards one place: the Shadowlands. The Shadowlands were the uncharted lands in the far north beyond the Iron Mountains. They were rarely visited and those who did never returned, rumors of all sorts of monsters lurking in the far north, even bloodthirsty Fanalis holdouts and worse. No danger could dissuade Solomon from his goal, he would find the storied vaults and claim the power for his own and nothing would stop him no injury, beast or man could keep him away from what was rightfully his.
For months Solomon made his way north braving the deadly jungles and treacherous Iron Mountains, just barely managing to survive from day to day he was hardly unrecognizable as his flesh was pulled tight over his bones. Solomon made it into the Shadowlands braving the horrors that lurked within, and near death he managed to find the ancient vault, solving one of the greatest myths. Alongside ancient Sith Order symbols was the ancient sigil of House Zambrano. Solomon Zambrano passed the test of blood and came before the ancient holocron of his ancestor Vulkanus that activated upon his entry into the great vault. When asked what he desired most in this world Solomon answered “Everything”, and his training began that day.
Under the tutelage of Vulkanus Zambrano the young Solomon learned the ways of the force and the dark side. The young man was unlike anyone his master had ever seen, his hunger for knowledge bordered on obsession and his advanced ability to learn let him rapidly absorb Vulkanus’s teachings. It was the dark side that allowed Solomon to repair his broken body, that provided him sustenance. He absorbed knowledge like no pupil Vulkanus had ever seen before mastering the teachings of the holocron, and then moving on to master the many texts, and the repository of knowledge compiled by those who followed after Vulkanus. Solomon mastered the ways of the dark side and through his mastery of sith magic and alchemy he was able to weave terrible spells and create monstrous Sithspawn including hulking Monoliths.
The power of the dark side twisted Solomon’s mind and blackened his soul. But with power comes a price one must pay and Solomon was cursed with a voracious hunger for control that would never be sated. It twisted the once great warrior into a black hearted tyrant that believed himself a god. It was in the temple’s halls that Solomon died and Nemeroth; God of Death was born. When there was nothing left for him to learn Solomon left the Shadowlands and descended through the Iron Mountains with his creations, concealing them within the mountains he descended not to Canthar where his father ruled as King but to Qocia the religious and cultural heart of the Epicanthix. Solomon concealed himself and moved among the populace, learning the intricacies of every religion that followed each god of the Pantheon and the deified Kings. Solomon used his newfound abilities to influence the high clergy of every deity and deified king in Qocia bestowing power to those who would fall to his mystifying speechcraft and follow him, while twisting their bodies with darkened runes of control that made them completely subservient to him. The worship of Nemeroth spread like wildfire beneath the surface.
In what was called the Burning of Qocia the entire clergy rose up as the massive Cult of Nemeroth revealed itself declaring worship of all other gods as heresy. The very presence of a being that could do the things Nemeroth could do spread like wildfire infecting the populace with every word of the hate fueled bile that the dark clergy spewed. Unlike the other clergy those who followed Nemeroth were gifted with actual dark power. All of Qocia rose up and burned virtually every temple dedicated to the heretical gods down. The fanatics called the ‘Black Bloods’ quickly seized control.
When all of Qocia bowed before Nemeroth he moved against Canthar itself an army of fanatics at his back as well as a splinter of the unified army that were ensnared by the dark gospel. Solomon brought his dark creations down from the mountains and bolstered his army with Monoliths, Tuk’ata, Leviathan, Sith Hydra, and other monsters. It was on the vast open fields surrounding Canthar that the Black Bloods led by their god Nemeroth would face the United Panathan Army under the great Houses Sehat, Tamas, Decius, Luctacus, and the unified House Zambrano under King Magnus Zambrano. House Zambrano looked out with shock and disbelief as the one called Nemeroth, the being of darkness was none other than one of their own: Solomon Zambrano. Family unity fractured and sides were taken with Talia rising up for her returned beloved, and brother.
Solomon bellowed out across the fields to his enemy reminding them of the promise that he made to them. While his forces were massively outnumbered they did have advantages that made numbers count for nothing. Solomon conjured a massive force storm darkening the skies as thunder boomed and streaks of red lightning in the clouds illuminated the field. In one swift stroke Solomon ordered his vile legion against his enemy and unleashed the destructive storm brewing over Canthar in a brutal attack that became forever known as the Fields of Blood. Thousands were turned to ash in the might of the storm, and many thousands more were slaughtered by the brutal Sithspawn. Even the well trained, well equipped veterans who would follow Magnus through the gates of hell could not withstand these brutal creatures that slaughtered their way through tearing through the walls of Canthar. Magnus was powerless to stop his legion from routing completely in the face of their enemy, with many outright surrendering to the god dropping to their knees in fealty.
Solomon made his way to the palace where he met Magnus and their conflicted family in the throne room, challenging his father to a duel to the death. Despite Magnus’s legendary skill in battle he was nothing compared to what his son had become. Solomon fought his father barehanded and with the force enhancing his strength and speed he brutally beat his own father, embarrassing him in front of his own people. It was when he was finally beaten that Solomon held his father down in the throne and with a blast of dark side fire burned him alive, stripping the flesh from his bones and completely annihilating his spirit. For their defiance Solomon killed two other members of his family as well Torgon, and Vaella completely wiping out their lines.
Now as the new undisputed God and King of Panatha the dark gospel of Nemeroth spread like wildfire to every corner of the planet as worship of any other was outlawed. Solomon’s first act as both God and King was to wipe out the last bastion of resistance to his ascendance as a god: House Sehat. The dominant religious leaders came from House Sehat and traditionally they were the ones who also crowned Kings. Even now Sehat still resisted and railed against the false god. For their defiance Solomon utterly annihilated House Sehat wiping out their entire line, destroying their stronghold, as well as completely wiping House Sehat from history removing everything that could be linked back to them until all that remained was memory. Soon after he was officially crowned the first Arch-King, now with the Epicanthix people enslaved to his will he was fully recognized as Nemeroth the God of Death.
Solomon married his sister Talia Zambrano who became Arch-Queen and later known as the “Banshee Queen”. It was Talia most of all who mastered the teachings of the dark side, the only one Solomon truly trusted. Together they began a reign of darkness unlike any ever seen before. Solomon founded the Suokir or the Shades a secret police that would enforce loyalty, ruthlessly suppress opposition, and hunt for heretics in the name of Nemeroth. Under Talia’s leadership the very first royal intelligence agency the Wodvuilr or Watchers was born, a vast network of spies covering all of Panatha and all of the Pacanth Reach earning her the nickname of Banshee Queen, a woman rarely seen in the eyes of the public who had eyes everywhere. The army was completely changed under the leadership of Nemeroth who seeded it with sithspawn monsters. Solomon controlled all life and every aspect of it, including nature itself but it still wasn’t enough.
The War of Unification began.
Nemeroth sent his forces out in a religious crusade across the stars conquering Bunduki, Ravaath, Fornow, and Sorimow not stopping until all of the Pacanth Reach bowed before the Black Empire. Every world claimed by the followers of Nemeroth was corrupted, its residents enslaved just like Panatha until the God of Death held absolute control before the next world began. The Hexarchy was formed from five Archlords that ruled each world including a sixth that was the Grand Hierophant of the Holy Church of Nemeroth. They would act as the governing body of the Reach, giving the Arch-King absolute authority over his domain.
Now with his lands secure Nemeroth issued a decree stripping the rights of all non Epicanthix and making them slaves. Nemeroth carved out a massive domain through the use of automatons and specially chosen laborers, their minds stripped. This new underground citadel was deep beneath the earth on Panatha and would serve as the capital of his Black Empire. Solomon and Talia with their power absolute went on an expedition to Sith Space to finally meet their ancestors, the ones whose knowledge was responsible for everything they had achieved. They made it to Dromund Kaas and uncovered the ancient Zambrano tomb there and met the specter of Vulkanus Zambrano and his family in person. Before his progenitors Solomon triumphantly claimed the Zambrano legacy for his own, reaching heights they could only dream of. Now with two children Dagon and Tabitha, Solomon and his wife mentored them in the ways of the dark side. But for all that he controlled it wasn’t enough.
He wanted more.
Life wouldn’t be enough for Solomon nor would a thousand worlds, Solomon wanted all of reality to bend before his might. For this he would need to breach the long fabled World between Worlds, the one place this could be achieved. To do so he concocted a dark ritual that would require a great amount of power in order to succeed, power that could only come from souls. Nemeroth began calling for tributes across his Black Empire, and thousands had come after his wishes were relayed down through the hierarchy and his clergy. All together they came before Nemeroth in a ritual chamber deep beneath the earth where they were all mass sacrificed, their souls and life essence consumed. These sacrifices soon became a regular occurrence as tribute would arrive on the “Black Ships”, it was considered a great honor to become a tribute and families of tributaries prospered because of their sacrifice. Little by little Solomon came closer and closer to the beginning of his ritual.
It was an act that would be his undoing.
The sacrifices created a disturbance of black energy in the force, one that the Galactic Triumvirate could no longer ignore. The darkness in this far flung reach needed to be cleansed and its people freed. The Jedi Order sent many of its jumber along with a force to the Reach to hunt for followers of the dark side, find the source of this dark ritual and bring them to justice.
They had no idea what they were walking into.
The Galactic Triumvirate had no idea just how deep the corruption ran within the Pacanth Reach. The task force sent made it to Panatha where the forces under the peacekeeping Jedi disembarked making camp within the Lasian Riverlands. It was in Gekha that they met with those who called themselves leaders interacting with the populace to find the source of corruption. But unbeknownst to them this was all a trap. The forces were sent toward Canthar as the heart of the domain of this so called god Nemeroth but before they could arrive the ambush was triggered in what was called the Lasian Massacre. The Triumvirate Army and the Jedi were overwhelmed by the Epicanthix people as well as nature itself so blighted it bowed before Nemeroth. The task force was attacked by tens of millions and tons more Sithspawn, it was a gross underestimation of just how deep the devotion to Nemeroth ran. In space above the task force was butchered with only a single ship making it out alive to head back with what it had found.
The Galactic Triumvirate sent several fleets against the Black Empire beginning the Dark Wars. All worlds under the dominion of Nemeroth came under siege by the Triumvirate. But once again they underestimated just how deep this god’s control was. It was embedded into the fabric of society. Entire worldly populations marched against them and not a single one would surrender because their god asked them to. Horrific suicide bombings and attacks were carried out in what became the most brutal all out war in Panathan history. It soon became evident to the Jedi overseeing these wars they couldn’t simply conquer them like any other planet. Loyalty to this god was so great they would need to exterminate the populations to ensure compliance, something the Jedi were not willing to do. They needed to strike at the beating heart of this corruption and stop the ritual, only when this god was killed that they would be able to break the spell.
They struck at Panatha.
Every fleet retreated to form one big armada that struck at the full might of the Black Empire at its capital. The Jedi led the charge leading their soldiers against the deadliest warriors and beasts in Nemeroth’s legions, a task force of masters and elite soldiers struck at the Dark Hollow, the underground lair of Nemeroth while the others would buy them time and keep the rest of the Black Empire’s legions distracted. It was a move with great cost as tens of thousands were butchered by the elite legions that defended the Hollow, every single one of them willing to fight to the death. They slew monsters and men alike as a group of Jedi cut their way through into the beating heart of Nemeroth’s great stronghold. Solomon stood in the center of a ritual circle waiting for the Jedi led by eight masters. Solomon and Talia fought the Jedi as a team in a brutal conflict that slaughtered all but six of the Jedi Masters. Solomon was empowered by hundreds of thousands of souls and a master of the dark side, but his power was split carving his way into the world between worlds his plot almost coming to fruition. Even they couldn’t stop the great Defiler, but something had to be done. They needed to do something to stop this darkness from ascending and bending all of reality to his will. The Jedi Masters sacrificed themselves combining all of their energy together into one destructive blast of light.
As the Jedi died their attack was powerful enough that it interrupted the dark ritual of Nemeroth, the ensuing backlash of the ritual and the light was too much power for Nemeroth to contain and they obliterated him, sundering his spirit and causing his dark citadel to be buried in the earth. Trillions were killed unseating the tyrant and many more slaughtered during his reign of terror but Solomon Zambrano, better known as Nemeroth the Defiler was dead. As Solomon died the Black Empire crumbled with him. Talia Zambrano only barely survived the blast that sunk the Dark Hollow deep into the earth, its entrances hidden through tectonic shifts from all but a few.
The Sundering of Nemeroth broke the spell that enslaved life within the Reach and freeing them from his maddening whispers. It also dealt a death blow to the war efforts of the Black Empire. The Archlords that had assembled to the capital were forced into hiding taking with them elite warbands from the fracturing legions of the Defiler. The Galactic Triumvirate ruthlessly hunted down the remnants with Jedi Shadows killing many of the dark side wielding clergy, while the army began capturing or killing the remaining sentient soldiers while hunting down the Sithspawn creations wherever they could find them. The death of Nemeroth however had effects that no one could foresee as so much power was condensed in his hands over life for so long that the ensuing vacuum created following his death caused the complete collapse of society alongside the fall of the Black Empire. The economy was in shambles because of the long war. The Galactic Triumvirate set out to help them rebuild and assembled a group of the major houses in Canthar: Decius, Luctacus, Tamas, and Bruul, the appointed Lords of Prethia by the Zambranos when they ascended the throne as rulers of the Reach. They allowed them to elect a new King to govern their people, to restore order with someone new who would lead them out of darkness and rebuild their entire society. Absent from this group was the Zambrano Family who were named a terrorist organization and wanted for war crimes. The remaining members of House Zambrano that survived including Harkon his wife Luna and children Jarex II, Aeron, and Octavia, Daemon and his wife Serana and their children Magnus II and Astrid, Nadira and her husband Galmar and their children Cyric II, Lydia, and Freya were all arrested on a litany of charges. The most wanted criminals were both Solomon and Talia's children Dagon and Tabitha as well as the Banshee Queen herself who was rumored to have survived. As the principal leaders if she was alive the war could continue for decades as a rebellion.
Eventually the Great Houses settled on Lord Valoris of House Decius to become the next King.
Unbeknownst to the Jedi however who actively hunted for the fugitive Banshee Queen the dead Nemeroth had planned for what was to come. A small piece of his soul was placed within an amulet, a horcrux that would become the ruling amulet of the Zambrano Lords. This amulet was first given to Talia who carried it with her in her escape during the Sundering of the Dark Hollow. Talia Zambrano quickly retreated deep into the inhospitable Iron Mountains, gravely wounded, and stricken with grief over the lost of her husband and their defeat. Talia passed the amulet to her son Dagon who with Tabitha united with her as the rest of the family was being arrested. Talia was far too weak to go on, and with her out there still as the main link to Solomon the Jedi would never stop hunting her and hounding her family until she was dealt with. Talia contacted the still living Archlords, leaders of the Black Empire now turned Warlords who each controlled portions of the great legions and proclaimed Dagon their new master. Talia instructed her son and daughter on her deathbed of the techniques their father had used to control life, and finally died of her wounds. The funeral procession of Talia was a private one held by the remains of the family not in custody, and the two were taken into custody soon after, with the image of the couple being hauled into a jail flanked by Jedi Shadows becoming famous for the time period.
Dagon and Tabitha Zambrano were spitting images of their father and mother as two of the first "Pureblood Zambranos" with Tabitha carrying her mother’s famous white hair and Dagon his father’s great size. Most of all due to experiments into the dark side the two were extremely powerful in the force and Sith Lords in their own right trained from youth by their father and mother in the dark arts including the magic techniques utilized by the two. They carefully hid their true abilities in the force from the Jedi, and in turn it put them in a better position to operate within the prison. Dagon and Tabitha were the only children of Solomon and Talia and were born into a life of luxury, they were given the best education, combat training from the time they could walk, each personally trained in the art of the force by their parents.
When they reached the age of maturity they were married by their parents. Under Solomon’s decree no Zambrano would ever lay with another not of the blood. They were gods and they would only lay with one another. Dagon and Tabitha were two of the few individuals who truly learned from Nemeroth making them revered by the church as divinity especially as the god's children. Under their parents influence they grew manipulative, cunning, and intelligent as they learned firsthand how they could dominate others with or without the use of the force. They lived in the Dark Hollow during the reign of the Black Empire taking part in experiments, while Dagon frequently sat in on his father's meetings with the cabinet learning firsthand through his father's leadership.
Dagon was put through the same gauntlet that his father and grandfather were when he was of age, the arena. Over the years the grand arena circuit became so important to the Zambranos that it became tradition. The first born of the next generation when they came of age would enter the arena and to show their strength as the most dominant line of their species, by beating all other contenders to become Grand Champion. While he was dominant on the battlefield Dagon showed his true gifts off of it with an incredible patience, and a brilliant mind that shaped him into an unbelievable leader. Dagon and Tabitha remained at their fathers side as the war turned against them, and commanded the defense of the Dark Hollow making the forces of the light pay for every inch of ground they gained.
However they were sent away as the defenses fell as the future of the family should something go wrong it was pivotal they survive. When the Jedi finally caught up with Dagon and Talia after the secret funeral for their mother, it was only because he had wanted them to. In prison he was constantly grilled by interrogators for information about his father, about the genocidal acts committed by his family, and most of all about the Archlords and Generals that commanded the remains of the vast legions, which was the biggest threat their enemy faced. Initially Dagon would give them nothing and any offer of deals were denied by the prosecution.
Unbeknownst to them Dagon retained control over these Warlords even in prison. Secretly he was able to maintain use of the force through techniques he used to hide his own from his captors, it wasn't unusual to find family without the gifts of the force so he didn't receive the same precautions as others. In prison he used sith magic to dominate flocks of birds that would fly past his cell and used them to relay his orders where he would only be known as the Ravenlord. Dagon would identify the key players from the Jedi Order and the Galactic Triumvirate, and use his authority over the remnants against his families tribunal.
The first mistake of the Jedi was that they underestimated just how deep the control of Nemeroth ran. The bindings of magic were just one of many. The Defiler controlled every aspect of society including a brainwashing propaganda campaign, a mandatory youth program that was mandatory for all young including every member of the new generation. The Church of Nemeroth held regular services and rituals as the only religion it further served to indoctrinate the people from the time they were born throughout their entire lives. An entire generation reached maturity with absolute loyalty to Nemeroth and the Zambrano family burned into their minds. It was virtually impossible for the prosecution to find credible witnesses on the side of the Epicanthix many would commit suicide over betraying their god.
The second mistake was holding the war crimes tribunal in the Reach, right in the backyard of the Zambrano family. Dagon was able to use this to have his agents obtain the entire prosecutions case and he took this stream of information and began to orchestrate a series of violent bombinbs, assassinations, and attacks to kill anyone involved with the trial against his family. This led to a bloody period where four of the eight Chief Judges, two of the prosecutors, and several Jedi and military witnesses were assassinated. Under the guidance of this so called Ravenlord the Coalition of Warlords conducted guerilla warfare placing bounties on any peacekeeping law enforcement agents, and military officers that culminated in the death of a General.
The insurrection was so bad that it caused the prosecution to waver at the behest of their higher ups in the core and they returned to Dagon who offered to make deals with them earlier. They had no choice but to accept any deals that he could give them. First Dagon began providing them with small bits of information to help prevent further bombings and killings, in exchange for better conditions and a joint cell with his wife to show them he was serious. Then he began to make deals with them to target the warbands in exchange for the exoneration of family members beginning with the children.
One by one his cousins were freed, his aunts and uncles were exonerated with every deal they made. This was all part of his plan as Dagon killed those who would present problems for his deals, those who he saw as threats and in exchange he would feed some of the coalition to them. Out of the six Archlords of the Hexarchy, Dagon ultimately gave them half of them, those with the weakest warbands while consolidating his power in the other three. He would convince the prosecution by keeping half of the coalition in hiding that these were the last remnants, feeding them false intel about a civil war that caused them to fall on one another after his father passed.
For the last of the three Archlords he gave up the man's location in exchange for the exoneration of both himself and his wife, he further fed them false intel by naming this last man as the Ravenlord they were hunting for. In turn he shifted the focus from his family to the Archlords since his parents were both dead, and the ones who committed the worse of the war crimes were the Hexarchy. Now with the Ravenlord at last taken down in the eyes of the light the insurrection was over. Still his family was prevented from holding office, or any prestigious appointment under King Valoris Decius with the exception of Dagon who was permitted to serve as an advisor of the King for his efforts in ending the insurrection, they found it necessary to have a cooperative Zambrano alongside the King to give his reign legitimacy in the eyes of the people.
A seat in the background was just what Dagon wanted he knew that no matter how much he wanted to rule as King he would never get the right to wear that crown, not while the forces of the light kept their eyes on his home. The influence of his family was not lost on the nobility and most of the remaining houses were staunchly loyal to the Zambranos albeit in secret. This made Valoris a puppet for Dagon to manipulate. One of the biggest achievements of King Valoris Decius's reign is that he rebuilt the city states including the rebuilding of Qocia as it was originally bringing the City of a Thousand Temples back to its former shining glory. Instead Dagon spent the majority of his time gathering resources, securing allies, building up his forces from the remaining Archlords in hiding as well as continuing the Cult of Nemeroth in secret through the efforts of the Grand Hierophant for the inevitable time when the eyes on his home would fade, and they would be able to take their rightful place. Tabitha organized a hidden court of alchemists to continue the creation of Sithspawn and formed a school in a joint effort with the cult to train new darksiders.
A bulk of their time was spent raising their children Elygiir, Saena, and Dahlia. The exact age of Dagon and Tabitha was unknown due to extensive experimentation done on them, and their gifts in the dark side they lived well past a normal lifespan for an Epicanthix. They lived to see the Gulag Plague ravage the galaxy finally tearing attention away from them as concerns in the farthest reaches of space were forgotten, and countless people died as a result, what Dagon had worked so hard for was finally coming to pass. However Dagon finally died during this turbulent period a victim of the plague, he passed surrounded by family after living a full life. Everyone in the family knew of the sacrifices that he made, that without Dagon the family would've fallen with Nemeroth and it was through his efforts that they continued to exist at all. It is said that Dagon died in the arms of his wife with a smile on his face as he thought about what a prosperous future his family held. The funeral of Dagon Zambrano was a massive planetwide affair becoming the biggest funeral in history with over a hundred million in attendance and its proceedings lasting over a week. Dagon was held in state at first in Canthar and brought to each city state before the final private funeral at the Dreadfort and he was interred in his own tomb in the mountains in a valley that held the tombs of his father and grandfather.
In the aftermath of the Gulag Plague Elygiir and his two sister-wives Saena and Dahlia with the support of their mother challenged the firstborn son of King Valoris, Gaius Decius who ascended the throne following his fathers death to the plague. However against the advice of his family the boy King stood against the Zambranos and named the usurpers enemies of the state. Elygiir unleashed his hidden legions against the forces of King Gaius in a short, horrific war called the Blackmoor Harvest. Against the dark side wielding legions of the Zambranos further bolstered by the sithspawn, the elite monsters created by Solomon himself that survived the war the forces of King Decius were butchered in a one sided battle that lasted just a few hours. Elygiir earned the name of the Widowmaker after he won the war and executed the male miles of any house that opposed him.
Under his leadership his family was once again at the pinnacle of power. Queen Saena was rarely seen often known as the Whispering Ghost, she revived the intelligence network and secret police that enabled their grandfather to maintain order and ran them from behind the scenes becoming one of the most chilling figures of the time period. Saena was popular after her death because she was rarely seen in public and there was almost no artwork or statues depicting her image, those that were became sequestered away in the Dreadfort. Dahlia created the first ever Court of Alchemists that made these sorcerous individuals a mainstay in any great house's court their powers, alchemical skill, and legendary wisdom became valuable assets. Elygiir expanded the Dreadfort through the construction of extensive tunnel networks and completely rebuilt the military incorporating both the alchemical creations and force wielders. He also created a specialized unit of commandos under House Bruul, the family that also lead the Crownguard, these commandos would act as special forces and they were initially created to take on rogue mages and feral monsters that were set loose following the deaths of their masters.
The Bruul Commandos became the deadliest fighting force on Panatha. Due to the threat of rogue mages and feral beasts Elygiir was the first King to establish a new Circle of Magi and made the Court of Alchemists one of its divisions, and every wielder of the force was required to serve in the circle that answered directly to the King, with his wife Dahlia becoming the first ever Archmage. Tabitha continued to advise her children until she died shortly after the foundation of the circle seeing the golden age of their family return and prosperity brought to their world. Tabitha was given full honors just like her husband and Panatha mourned her loss. She was interred into her tomb with Dagon in the Iron Mountains and celebrated for her brilliance, her support and the efforts she made allowed the family to survive and thrive, even after Dagon's death she proved to be a major source of wisdom for the family she was involved in every major decision made during the early half of Elygiir's reign.
King Elygiir built statues to his family and was known for building a pair of massive statues flanking the harbor of Canthar in honor of his parents. The reign of Elygiir was the most peaceful reign the world had seen since the days of the Black Empire, thanks in part due to the indoctrinated generation of Epicanthix fostered by his grandfathers efforts. Out of respect for his mother it wasn't until after her death of that Elygiir promoted the worship of other gods and allowed temples dedicated to the pantheon to return to other cities, and open worship was allowed. This was a decision that was popular at the time but later became contested by historians as a mistake because of the tension it placed between the family and the Church of Nemeroth and the new budding churches. In addition it had a profound impact on altering the image the people grew up believing of the Zambrano Family, causing later generations to view them in a far negative light without the indoctrination. Elygiir reigned for approximately ninety years, with Dahlia passing in his eighty fifth year, Saena following three years later, and finally the King himself two years past. Elygiir Zambrano became known as King Elygiir the Resurrector for his role in returning the family to power leaving behind a prosperous Kingdom stronger than ever, he was later lauded as the last of the brilliant rulers and one of the rare few still remembered, and what followed became known as the Age of the Mad Kings.
Elygiir had three children his eldest was Braxus with Dahlia, a younger brother in Crudas and the girl Talia II with Saena. As third generation purebloods they were part of the very first of the mad generation. The effects of incest and of Solomon's experiments on his own family bled down through the bloodlines and it became said that when a Zambrano was fate flips a coin to determine if they would be gifted with brilliance, or madness. The family was extensively scarred by Solomon and his influence didn't truly manifest until the third generation deep. Every child of House Zambrano was born with one of the negative traits that encompassed Solomon and it was this wickedness and the pureblood lineage that caused them to fall to their own inner desires. For reasons unknown at the time Braxus was passed over as heir and Crudas was paired with Talia II instead of Braxus, passing the older son over as heir. Crudas was afflicted with a terrible thirst for blood he inherited his great grandfathers sadistic ways and explosive temper, while Talia II inherited his vanity and desire. Crudas became indoctrinated into Nemeroth worship early on in his upbringing and by the time his father died, he was a devout adherent. When his father allowed religion to come back in such an open manner he took great offense to this.
After ascending the throne King Crudas sated his thirst for blood on the arena circuit under his influence the arena became a bloodbath with larger bouts hosted. However he would get his chance to wage war when he was petitioned by the Hierophants of the Pantheon in Qocia to restore Nereus to his rightful position as Allfather. This threw him into such a rage that Crudas led the army to Qocia in what became known as the Burning of Qocia. Crudas butchered hundreds of priests and slaughtered most if not all of the Hierophants, any who stood against him and against Nemeroth. In the end the Priestkiller won the day and after his triumph bodies of the fallen were hung and left until they fell apart. Crudas the Priestkiller established an inquisition that swept from city to city to quell what he saw to be heresy. In reality it was a religious genocide fueled by Crudas's thirst for blood. Whether they were innocent or guilty over four million people died as a result of his brutal campaign, so much blood was spilt that bodies of water turned red. It was this act that began to destroy the popularity the family had and stoke the embers of resentment. It was Talia II however that stoked those embers into a tiny flame. She used the agencies created by Saena with the approval of her husband to conduct horrific experiments through the dark side earning her the nickname of the Heartless. She abducted countless women and children, families of the dissidents and those she found through her intelligence agency and many were taken never to be seen again.
The reputation of Talia II the Heartless swept through the world and only served to stoke the fires of resentment. It was due to the efforts of them and the vile acts of their other family members who conducted horrific celebrations of pure debauchery that they became the first ever Zambranos to face a rebellion. Crudas crushed two separate rebellions during his reign with extreme prejudice and becoming the first Zambrano since the destruction of House Sehat to pit the famed abominations of Solomon against his own people to smash the rebellions. Crudas's reign was brutal and bloody his heavy handed methods solidified a resentment in the people and a desire for change. When he died his death wasn't truly mourned by the people it was celebrated. Talia II took over after his death and continued to spiral downward, for the next three years she began hosting public torture sessions and would torture dissidents and rivals in front of their families, performing unspeakable acts. Their acts would be the beginning of the end for House Zambrano and their rule.
Harlan and his sister Ashlyn Zambrano were the only two children that survived childbirth. They were raised in the luxury of the Dreadfort and trained just like the generations before them. However Harlan was a twisted being afflicted with supreme arrogance, and along with his sister lust and an affinity for debauchery. Harlan was cursed with a god complex believing his family superior to the extent that he wouldn't associate with common people. Harlan became the first Zambrano in the entire family to not enter the arena and fight his way to the top. When he ascended the throne as King he would only hold court through a proxy never meeting with others himself if he could help it. Tax doubled during this period placing great strain on the people and he was forced to crush a rebellion early on. Harlan himself would host massive, extravagant parties of debauchery and sin that would last for several days or even a week exclusively for his entire family. He was often known as the Depraved because he drained the families wealth, never choosing to rebuild the army or infrastructure after crushing two early rebellions. It was said Harlan continued the families spiral into madness during his reign because of the forbidden parties he threw siring many children with other members of his own family mixing the lines. The Zambrano family was twisted, and large at this time period and it only expanded. Over their reign Harlan fought in four separate rebellions the last of which would be his last war.
Later in his reign Harlan fought one last rebellion led by Sobek Luctacus who had marshalled support from both the people and many of the houses. Harlan fought but with a decadent military and only a small force of the legendary behemoths created by Solomon left, and the knowledge to create them lost his forces were destroyed. Harlan was forced back into the Iron Mountains and in an event called the Battle of Harlan's Gate, one of the only major passes into the Iron Mountains at a site that would someday hold Kaine's Wall he officially surrendered his crown to Sobek. The only reason Harlan, Ashlyn and his family weren't killed or captured was the legendary Monoliths that they had left these creatures held legendary names: Adramelech, Galvanoth, Meragor, and Valjun. Sobek attacked Harlan even after his surrender and the Zambrano Lord was forced to send these beasts against Sobek's massive army. What resulted was a bloodbath, a massacre so horrific that Sobek was forced to retreat as his legions had no hope of destroying these great beasts.
Sobek officially named House Zambrano as outcasts and they were exiled from every city, and forced to live within the Dreadfort. The family was barred from ever associating with society and forced to watch as the world went on without them. Once the Zambrano threat was dealt with Sobek turned his anger to the Church of Nemeroth. As a devout follower of Nereus it was Sobek who restored the Allfather to power, purging the black church of Nemeroth's numbers to such an extent that they descended into a broken cult lingering on the fringes of society. Harlan lived out the rest of his days within the halls of the Dreadfort and slowly but surely the world began to forget about the Zambranos. Harlan lived for many decades after and slowly but surely the Monoliths died as Valjun, Meragor, and Galvanoth passed. Harlan died a bitter man who grew deluded in his old age into thinking he had won the rebellions, lost in the memories of better days.
He passed the amulet of power down to his children Aldrick and his sister Tiamar that became the next Lord and Lady of their family, Harlan was solidified as the one whose madness cost them everything. The only good quality that Aldrick had was his skill as a warrior, he was a terrible leader. Aldrick was afflicted with a terrible greed and desire for luxury despite his families situation. It was said the only achievement Aldrick managed to make was producing the next generation in the Line of Solomon. The family went bankrupt during this time and could no longer afford to bring in supplies. Despite the rest of his family's pleas that they could sell many of their treasures, many of the luxurious pieces in exchange for food Aldrick refused to give anything away. So barely into middle age by this time Aldrick and his wife Ava, and several other Zambranos starved to death when his children Rameses and Viktoria were barely of age. Rameses and Viktoria as their first act wearing the pendant gave their family the order to begin selling product and ended this brutal period.
Out of all the Zambrano Lords the reign of Rameses and Lady Viktoria is looked upon as the worse. After receiving what was believed to be a vision Rameses and Viktoria began a series of horrific experiments kidnapping anyone who ventured into the Iron Mountains and flaying them in these tests, and what was believed to be an experiment to unlock power within the pendant that Zambrano Lords wore. After these rumors and that of demon summoning made it back to the then King Hotep Luctacus he established a garrison at Harlan's Gate but didn't dare venture in because of the monoliths that defended the Zambrano family. Hotep received word that three of the monoliths had died in the over half a century since the rebellion and only Adramelech remained and even the several hundred year old beast suffered. Hotep launched an attack and the Battle of the Dreadfort began. Over sixty thousand men attacked the Dreadfort that was the biggest and best defended castle on the planet. Hotep was determined to oust House Zambrano once and for all and to rid the world of what was believed to be the last Monolith. House Zambrano maintained a garrison of roughly one thousand five hundred troops but also had Adramelech.
In the ensuing fight Adramelech butchered around forty five thousand troops before he fell, and before King Hotep ever even reached the gate. Another thirteen thousand died trying to breach the stronghold leaving Hotep with but a sliver of the army left but he achieved a pyrrhic victory nonetheless. Over half of the Zambrano Family was killed by the time the Eye of Solomon was torn down from the walls and victory was assured. King Hotep spared the remaining members of the family and levied upon them the worst punishment that he could: banishment. Rameses, Viktoria and the remaining Zambranos were stripped of everything they possessed and given a single ship with enough food to make it off world and they were banished from the Pacanth Reach. For over two months they traveled through space performing odd jobs in exchange for food and fuel, until finally they made it to the world that they chose to settle on: Thyferra. The family used its dark side gifts to manipulate and twist the locals, amassing a sizeable enough fortune to build themselves a sprawling estate deep in the jungles where they would toil out their days. It was during this time that a previously lost member of the family reappeared and that was the mysterious Braxus Zambrano. Prior to his birth Braxus was the product of a highly successful experiment by Elygiir and Dahlia. They began experimenting with the darkness running through their veins to discover is effects, and combined both sith alchemy and gene splicing in their exploits. Due to the corrosive nature of this darkness they managed to successfully splice in anzati traits, giving him all the best traits of the species to the egg that would become Braxus. The results were increadible blending the purebloods who were overall the best of the Epicanthix with a different species, it was believed later that this was what ensured that the madness didn't take Braxus. This experiment was not popular however, it was heavily contested by those who knew, bordering on heresy to manipulate Nemeroth's touch. If the decision got out it could cause a war with the followers of Nemeroth, as well as destroy their reputation.
What set Braxus apart was that he was gifed with the best traits of the anzati race in addition to his own giving him greatly enhanced strength, speed, reflexes, supernatural senses and more, all things you would find in the Anzati as well as a long lifespan. Unlike his siblings Braxus was gifted with brilliance as a result of these experiments and didn't suffer their madness. However due to his unique abilities he was often resented, or looked down on by others in his family. Braxus followed in the tradition of Zambrano men spending his youth studying and training, he was quickly recognized as an intellectual prodigy for his stellar understanding of even complex teachings. The youth even became a Grand Champion of the arena at the young age of fourteen, breaking his fathers record by an entire year. But he was not destined to become King he was still passed over for heir by his younger brother Crudas who harbored an extreme hatred for Braxus.
Some didn't see him as a true pureblood and the supreme arrogance that festered within the family caused this to develop into a deeper hatred. This was only deepened by the fact that their father chose to tutor Braxus in he ways of the force and the comcept of the dark side, instead of him. When their father died and Crudas took over as King he clashed with his brother on a daily basis, they had fundamental differences in ideas and with Crudas slipping into madness it only deepened the hatred he had for his brother. It came to a head during the months prior to the Burning of Qocia when Crudas attempted to assassinate Braxus. Braxus survived the attempt and recognized the assassin and his master. The pair fought openly in the halls of the Dreadfort. The pair fought for a full day through the castles halls before Braxus decisively won the fight. But instead of killing him Braxus couldn't give up on his brother and spared him. For this act that Crudas saw as embarassment and shame he exiled his older brother from their world. Braxus crippled him by taking his arm before he was taken away.
Braxus left with only a space worthy ship and enough food to make it to the next port. The inexperienced pilot's ship was sabotaged by his brother causing him to lose navigation. He spent much time drifting aimlessly aimlessly through deep space without contact as both fuel and food ran empty. Braxus nearly died of starvation before being rescued by passing smugglers for the infamous and legendary Yog-Suuli Kajidic, a powerful hutt run criminal organization that dominated the unknown regions and deep space. They took him to the unknown regions world of Zarr where he begins working off his debt to them, for saving his life. In the beginning he was a thug, drug runner, and smuggler performing low level jobs and making use of his great size. This period of anonymity wouldn't last very long however. Before long he displayed immense aptitude, ability, and skill in many fields and he was selected by his superiors for advancement as a blade, one of the Kajidics chosen killers and begins training put through the trials to test his worth.
The training regimen was brutal killing half of he recruits outright. In the last trial involving where all recruits are nearly beaten to death in a test of survival during the trial it took almost a hundred and fifty soldiers to subdue Braxus over a day and a half, drawing the attention of Nyarga Yog-Suuli Glaaki who personally attended, he is immediately put out into the field. Braxus earned a name for himself by successfully completing over two hundred contracts in his first month of service. Braxus is appointed as the chosen Shadow of Nyarga the Dauntless, the kajidic leader on and over Zarr. It was then that he completed the famous killing of Nyceptor the Betrayer following his coup, eliminating his Maenan bodyguard of Shadow Paladins on Zarr and ending his brief tenure over Zarr. Word of the assassination quickly spread back to Maena and Braxus was summoned by Nolthu Yog-Suuli Glaaki, known as Nolthu the Gruesome, Second to Narr'ahazii the Fathomless One. In the City of Yog he met with Nolthu a Hutt impressed by the young Braxus's actions, he reassigned him to his personal detail and immediately put him to task with targeting enemies of the Kajidic on the capital world.
Maena.
It was a world shrouded in mystery, intricate cultures, and a world thats forgotten more history than most worlds ever have. For young Braxus it quickly became home and a place he quickly acclimated to, their violent lifestyle was already second nature to him. He was an animal, an apex predator who unleashed death at the word of Nolthu. Every kill was more prominent than the last.
Word quicklyspread across the entire Yog-Suuli Glaaki Kajidic after Braxus performed several high profile assassinations including the legendary Kr’ylland Six the highest profile targets of the Kajidic in two thousand years: Ugga the Daemonseer, Hnarqu the Walking Plague, Kassogtha; Magister of the Bleak Mages, By’atorii; Defiler of Xoth’za, Fau’knar; Warlord of the Red Waste, and Mor’di’gar the Hierophant of Ash. Nolthu formed a close bond and friendship with Braxus during this time, a bond that would last for quite a long time. After his famous killings Narr'ahazii the Elder, leader of the Yog-Suuli Kajidic takes a direct interest in Braxus for his deeds and orders him tested. The Young Zambrano is cast into the Y-sha'thii Xa-uuk, roughly translated to the Yawn of Madness, just off the coast of Anaryian's Crest, Any that wish to enter the Elder's circle must first survive its maddening doldrums. An unknown amount of time passes before Braxus finally emerges from the Yawn of Madness alive, changed by the experience but in full grasp of his sanity, he is brought to Ecrairis where a bond forms between him and the Fathomless One, who acts as his mentor. It is this bond that shapes Braxus from the animal he's become into a man, tapping into his natural talents as a leader, engaging him with concepts beyond the battlefield. After serving for several years a celebrated event grips Maena and Braxus is asked by Narr'ahazii to serve as the First Trident of Udum for the Yog-Suuli Kajidic in the Sestercentennial Blood Purge, a five month long massive war that rages through the boneyard cities of the Feral Sands. It was thanks to Braxus's leadership that the Yog-Suuli claimed total victory in the first phase.
Against all odds however the outsider Braxus survives the agony of the Blood Purge and makes it to stage two the Champion's Woe. A brutal event where each surviving faction submits two hundred and fifty of their own champions. They are brought deep into the Red Waste, beyond the Brokenbone Dunes, to the red sand flats of the Champions Woe. This is where they chose their fate, life or infamy. Braxus was one of the number that dared infamy. He and the others were stripped down to a loin cloth and subject to brutal caning for 250 seconds and then crucified for five Maenan days and nights where he was cut free and discarded unceremoniously on the hard, sun baked flats. He was given only water, and three salted corpses from the battles they've been witness to for five months now, their drink and food for the journey. This is attached to a 250 pound sled, which he was forced to drag for 250 Maenan Leagues along The Cursed Way. It is a highly perilous route that cuts through and across the Cannibal's Crest, Spinebreaker Ridge, the Sharptooth Cleft, Ravager's Rise, and then across the seemingly endless Blood Dunes of Eternal Dreams where even the resistant Maenan's have succumb to the unrelenting heat and vivid hallucinations. Braxus survived this Long Walk of the Blood Desecrator bare foot and unarmed, drinking and eating only what was provided. Until he became the only outsider to finally wade through the Breach of Zhal'axar, the woman that made this journey after that terrible terrible War so many ages ago. enduring to the Grand Games of the Blood Purge Champions and emerges as the last man standing, achieving total Yog-Suuli victory and becoming the new Bloodsoaked Desecrator.
In the aftermath of the terrible event he was brought to the Forbidden City of Zrozkrot, the personal sanctum of the Fathomless One to rest, recuperate, and explore. As the Bloodsoaked Desecrator it earned him many privileges and titles, including rulership over the sizeable territory surrounding the Bloodsoaked Desecrator's citadel. Braxus used the connections he achieved through becoming an official Glaaki, family of Narr'ahazii and Nolthu to host extravagant cultural events catered to a who's who of high profile individuals from across Maena. These events were increadibly diverse in nature thanks to his loyal aid in an ancient man by the name of Acrimedes, who mentored him in the various cultures. Braxus forged a vast network of connections, alliances through these extravagant events.
Due to the favors called in by Narr'ahazii Braxus became the student of Arudes the Armageddon, Warmaster of the mystical Bloodreaver Legion. He spent thirty years beside Arudes learning the powerful ways of the legion. It was during this period that he was exposed to some of the most horrific things imaginable, subject to lessons by the brutal and grim Arudes, who he stood by against the threat of Uayuith the Gore Behemoth, the Festering Tumor, the Obsidian Mongrel. Little is known about the aftermath of such a brutal conflict, more questions left than answers. What is known is that Braxus returned to stand beside Narr'ahazii once again. But even then his horrific multiple century long journey on Maena was far from over.
Xaedreen the Depraved, Shademaster of the Dread Shadows.
The Bloodsoaked Desecrator returned and was brought before Xaedreen, the Fathomless One named him a Dread Shadow, the legendary bodyguard of Narr'ahazii. This required him to come before Xaedreen and get her permission. The price of the dark arts was a steep one: Braxus had to give up his first born child. It wasn't just any child of the Zambrano, it was the child. Braxus did so without hesitation leading him to join the ranks of the Blighted Bulwark, the personal bodyguard who directly stood beside Narr'ahazii. In his first act of service?
War.
Braxus was sent by the Fathomless One alongside Nolthu the Gruesome deep into the Trade War that saw trillions die. In the final battles Braxus personally led the Yog-Suuli forces against the Hutt Space backed PanGalactic Shipping Corporation, backed by three Kajidics which tried to expand their sovereignty over the Yog-Suuli, who in turn backed the West Galactic Free Traders Guild. After a series of pivotal victories Braxus led a strike deep into Hutt Space which ultimately ended with his slaughtering of three rival Kajidics, by the hand of Braxus Zambrano three entire Kajidics were wiped out in the most despicable atrocity imaginable. The Yog-Suuli's victory ended any claim of the Hutts over their territory, but ultimately led to the Core and Mid-Rim Coalitions enacting their embargoes that ended the public legitimacy of the West Galactic Free Traders Guild.
Victory.
Braxus returned to his servitude on Maena which continued for over three centuries, serving Narr'ahazii faithfully and continuing his service under the next Kajidic Lord, his brother Nolthu the Gruesome as his Blighted Bulwark. In this time he took a new name Ya'zid-rah Yog-Suuli Glaaki. In this time Maena had a powerful influence on shaping him into the inevitable monster he would become, the horrific atrocities he would be exposed to, be subject to, the horrors he suffered through as many loved ones he lost on Maena, his entire family slaughtered numerous times, often times as he watched them die. It shaped him. It was his assassinaion of the High Priest of Xoth'za Y'mnar that had a profound impact on him. The Heralds of Xoth'za hounded him day and night, trapping him between their immense host and the Raven Crags, an infamous location home to sleeping horrors best left to the dark. Braxus against all odds fled into the Raven Crag with the Heralds behind him, he fled deep into the gaping maw of the Howling Hollow. Zambrano endured the torment and whispers, the confusion and the horror it subjected him to. He has survived the maze-like paths, and climbed his way in to and through the mouth of madness in to the Necropolis of Crin'du-groz, his feet dragged him ever closer to the nightmarish Temple of Z'aathur the Ghoul King in the Graveyard of Sah-lok'zir under the Red Star.
He should've died in those halls.
But instead everyone who followed him were devoured by the dark. Braxus came face to face with the Ghoul King, the first to do so in ages and was sent from the halls with a confusing, haunting message. In time he would leave Maena again to return to Panatha, Braxus challenged his brother Crudas and executed both him and his sister in a savage battle, vengeance for what they unleashed upon him. But for Braxus his former home had changed too much, his family was irreparably damaged and disgraced, enthralled by their own madness and depravity. He left a void on the throne when he departed Panatha in utter disgust. Ultimately this event led him to Zybiisan and the eventual challenging of Acriaes the Ever-Burdened of the Bleak Mages. This perilous fight saw the legendary Acriaes invoke the Avatar of Ultroxium that delivered him a brutal, crushing defeat. It was his defeat here culminating in the earlier loss of Narr'ahazii that led to Braxus asking for release, which was granted by Nolthu.
For the third time he left Maena for good.
It was around this time that Blackskull was born, an infamous mercenary, bounty hunter, and contract killer for hire who would take any job. He never stayed in one place for very long and through his jobs he was able to see the galaxy from the vastness of deep space to the farthest reaches of the Outer Rim, to the wealthy worlds of the Core. He possessed a voracious hunger for knowledge and learned about many native cultures taking an affinity for Mandalorian, Echani, Thyrsian, and more. All the while using his Yog-Suuli connections to move due to his most wanted status both in his former life, and the status of Blackskull who became wanted far and wide. Even at a distance he still kept tabs on what was going on back home, and what he found out was a disappointment.
He could see his family slip further into madness with an inability to see reason, he was forced to emain on the sidelines and watch his once great family fall. Braxus's long life was a gift and a curse as he watched the centuries tick on by as he outlived many generations of Zambrano's seeing them go from the top of the mountain, the house that Elygiir built to a family of depraved, delusional men and women each one cursed and trapped within the halls of their own citadel. It was finally due to the work of Hotep Luctacus that his fallen family was finally swept away for good, half of them killed and the rest thrown out of the Reach forever, he came to see their estate on Thyferra and was disgusted after meeting what was left of his immediate and extended family. Rameses and Viktoria were the most potent of the Zambrano's left, who introduced the legendary Braxus Zambrano to their child, his very first meeting with a man who he would stand by for many decades. Blackskull drew attention over the centuries as a Jedi hunter and all around hunter of force users and an effective one that was hunted and wanted in many systems. After several centuries he was confronted and nearly killed by a force of Jedi, a major explosion in a skyhook over the Coruscanti skyline was believed to have been the end of him. But he survived and used this opportunity after all these centuries to retire to find a nice piece of the galaxy that he could call his own. He spent time on several worlds in isolation Thyrsus, Mandalore, including a prolonged period in the mountains on Alderaan, and many more but he became a restless nomad, struggling with his own demons. A long life was a curse as he outlived everyone around him even his own children, for all his wealth it didn't change anything. He finally came home the first time in centuries and settled into a beautiful home he built in the Iron Mountains.
Meanwhile Rameses and Viktoria continued their experiments as the most prominent of their siblings and family into unlocking the amulet. They tried several times to have children but the centuries of incest and dark side experiments caused birth to end in malformity or miscarriage that made them believe that they were cursed. The curse was finally broken around the anniversary of Solomon's birth when the family invoked the ancient spirits during coitus and would imbue the developing fetus in Viktoria's womb with the last shard of Solomon's spirit that was shattered in the Sundering many years prior. When this child was at last born he was shown to the world, to their decadent family and they touted him as the future of this family, he was given a name that would be known from the farthest reaches of deep space to the core, a name that would be synonymous with tyranny. A man that would someday be known as the Destroyer of Worlds, the Breaker of Dynasties, the Butcher King, the Black-Iron Tyrant and by some as the one true Sith'ari.
His name was Kaine.
The origins of Kaine Zambrano are a sad one as the boy was forced down a path of darkness even before he was born through the designs of a fallen monarch. Kaine was irrevocably twisted by the shard of Solomon's soul, he was a sociopath from the time he could walk, a baby silent out of the womb born with the best and worst qualities a Zambrano could have. The ritual left him scarred with a throbbing wound in his soul as the new shard worked to merge with the developing soul it would be long, drawn out process that would create many problems with the young boy for many years. It became evident early on that the boy had a very erratic personality, he swung like a pendulum and could seem like an entirely different person from day to day, or even moment to moment at the worst times. But as a youth Kaine was enamored with tales of the past, taught by the family's educators about where he came from like so many who came before him. Kaine was told the tales of men like Jarex the Redeemer, Magnus the Red, Solomon the Great, and many more legendary Zambrano men and women that helped keep this family alive, he was taught of tradition how Zambrano's struggled and how nothing in this world would be given, it must be taken. It became evident early on that he was an intellectual prodigy who quickly grasped topics of study. Through the force the boy was like a beating heart of raw power, an ocean of untapped energy.
It was these moments of study that grew to become his favorites, it was a time away from his parents. Rameses and Viktoria soon grew a deep resentment of their child. For everything that was great about Kaine he was in their eyes everything that they weren't, all they could see was their every failure reflected in his emerald green eyes. This resentment became hatred and created an increadibly hostile, abusive environment. He received daily beatings it didn't matter whether he was training or not, his father nearly killing him several times over the course of his youth. Viktoria would perform painful tests on the youth drawing blood and wielding black magic to examine her son and his untapped power not to help him but to try and see if it could be torn from him. In their mad depravity they still clung to the idea they could have what they lost and that the key was waiting inside their son. They began to slip further and further away as delusions clouded their minds but the hate still remained and the beatings got worse, while he was plagued with terrible nightmares of memories not his own at night.
It was this environment that caused a deep anger to boil beneath the surface as Kaine grew older. As he reached his teens he began to see the truth of his family beyond the glory of the past, he could see their failings, he grew disgusted at his parents own depravity and their incompetence. While he still was erratic some of his fondest memories in the halls of that estate were in the central tower overlooking the jungles, at this high point he could be alone and could think about the future. In his best moments his brilliance shined through, Kaine was a visionary and a forward thinking individual, he had grand designs for his own future and his path to greatness. If the stories of Magnus and Solomon, of Dagon and Mikael told him anything was that the only things a Zambrano needed for success were his own two hands and a vision. He continued to grow larger, become stronger, smarter his height matching his fathers by the time he was fourteen, by the time he was sixteen he towered over both of his parents his muscles like rolled steel. Neither of his parents would introduce their son to the force, it was the only advantage they appeared to have over him was that he was untrained. As he grew larger it became a key tool to continue beating on the boy, who could already overpower his father if he wanted to. But even they didn't understand just how far that pendulum of his personality would swing.
Kaine at his worst was a terrifying sight he was a chaotic, psychotic, sadistic individual who enjoyed death. So often when in these moods he could be found killing predators out in the jungles with his bare hands, he could no longer train with any of the household servants anymore. He killed three of the guards that were assigned as sparring partners one of which he deliberately crippled the man with a deep slash only to watch him slowly die. In these moods he was dangerous, volatile, and explosive when angered. If he was angered Kaine was prone to a black rage and everyone around him quickly lost their worth when he saw red. It was in these moods that he was left isolated even by his own parents, it was believed that if he was ever confronted in these moods he would kill anyone and everyone he could come into contact with. The best memories of this Kaine was deep in the jungle, it was where he experienced true combat against predators and anyone who accidentally made it on to Zambrano land it awakened a deep hunger for battle within him one that he would carry for his entire life. As these erratic switches happened more often despite his best attempts to control them the only constant was the young man's anger. It was almost evident to anyone around him that conflict with his parents was inevitable, it was an eventuality that he would fight back.
They had no idea.
It happened after he turned eighteen years old an event that would go down in Zambrano history as the Incident. It was an event that began with a particularly violent argument with his father, the man had made an incompetent decision that could've earned the family a good deal of money in the lucrative Bacta market on Thyferra. The argument evolved from there as the volatile Kaine Zambrano for the first time in his life called his father Rameses out on his own incompetence, his utter foolishness that cost the family everything, he named his father a failure and his mother a delusional shrew lost in the confines of her own mind. In his eyes they were no longer his mother and father he could no longer see past his own disgust as they let everything decay and fall away, for all the glory of the past it was people like them that cost the family everything. Kaine could see without any wool pulled over his eyes and he laid out his absolute hatred of his parents, his embarrassment to even live in the same home as them. The violent argument escalated to the point where it once again became violent, but this time it went different.
A wrathful Rameses found himself completely overpowered by his strong, powerful son who tossed him clear across the room, and straight through a wall. Viktoria as she usually did struck out with the force scorching him with lightning burning his very flesh, the pendulum swung and the visionary disappeared and a black rage swept over the young man. Kaine unleashed years of pent up anger, fury washed over him like a flood and all he could see was red. The young man unleashed a roar that thrummed with so much power it shook the earth, Viktoria and Rameses recoiled at the sight of their son throwing off her blasts and sent the estate guards to bring down their child. What happened within those halls was one of the most visceral massacres to date as blood flowed like a river within the halls of the estate, Kaine painted the walls red and left a path of bodies torn to pieces in his wake and screams that could be heard clear into the jungle. It wasn't just the guards that suffered his wrath no, anything that moved was broken and destroyed as walls shattered and portions of the very building collapsed, glass shattered and furniture crushed.
Even an untrained Kaine was a force to behold as his power was enough to completely crush the cockpit of his parents private shuttle stopping any attempts at escape, and he finally trapped them in the same tower that he so often stood in over the years. Zambrano fought against Zambrano in the tower as Rameses and Viktoria fought for their own survival, but even two trained Masters were not enough to tame his storm. Kaine obliterated his mother with a blast of crimson lightning so great she was turned into ash and her spirit scarred so deeply it would be decades before she could manifest in the Netherworld. For Rameses as revenge for many past beatings Kaine broke every bone in his father's body before blasting him into pink mist with a repulse so great it blew out the walls of the tower around him. Finally he was at last truly free, alone within the halls of his ruined estate, but free from the bondage of their failure.
In the aftermath of the brutal fight that ended the lives of both Rameses and Viktoria the estate was in shambles and virtually all of the guards and servants were dead with the exception of a token few. The truly sadistic part of Kaine came out as he let them go into the jungle with weapons and gave them a head start before he went out after them hunting them down one by one, and ending them over the course of a few days whereupon he was the only one left. As the only three Zambrano's who still lived on Thyferra it became evident to Kaine that he may have been the only one of his family left, and with the world in front of him he had to only decide where he would chart his course, he was free of the stain of his parents.
But he wasn't the only Zambrano left.
While the fight unfolded as Rameses and Viktoria fled deeper into the estate with escape taken away from them, they made a last ditch attempt and placed a call out to one relative they still had the means to contact: Braxus Zambrano. They pleaded for assistance against their empowered son Kaine who also had the shard of Solomon's soul embedded into the fiber of his being. They received a sharp refusal and a condemnation from Braxus their madness, their depravity had at long last cost them their lives. The madness in the family had cursed them to centuries of misery and loss and with their deaths it would at long last be purged from the family.
Braxus made his way to the estate on Thyferra not to defend his relatives but to come see this prodigal son, the key to the prophecy of one who would lead them back to greatness. After he arrived the battle was already over and he finally met Kaine standing in that same ruined tower looking out over the landscape. It had been days since the fighting was over and Kaine's personality had once again swung from the psychopath to the visionary and the two hit it off right away. Both men shared the same beliefs when it came to their family and how the deaths brought about a new age. They spent some time exchanging stories of their pasts, spoke of their families, even generations apart they both had shared experiences with the madness they quickly became fast friends.
While Kaine was strong, intelligent, and a moderately trained fighter he still had a lot to learn in this world and both of them knew it. In Kaine the older Braxus saw the chance to mentor a truly brilliant mind and to help the prodigy develop into something greater. If he received the proper guidance there was no telling what they could accomplish together with each of their abilities. He could see Kaine's brilliance as they shared visions of the future, the young man had grand designs for not only himself but for the impact he wanted to make on the galaxy, he had potential. But he understood the struggle Kaine faced with himself, the erratic switches, the nightmares he often faced as the two souls inside him struggled to unite. He needed to figure out who he was and Braxus had the tools to help him do that, and to give him the tools he would need.
The pair left Thyferra and the broken ruin that was the Zambrano Estate, there was nothing left for them here. Braxus began to train and educate Kaine in both a mix of different fighting styles and provide him with weapons training as well as how to slice effectively. Above all he would teach Kaine about people, how to read them, how to deceive them and how to exploit them. He became the young man's mentor and a facilitator in their ventures, he would provide Kaine with wise counsel among other services. Ultimately he had more experience and the young Kaine had much to learn. They first began their time together with a brief stint in high stakes bounty hunting where he taught Kaine the art of tracking and hunting them down. It all came naturally to the young man and he was a very fast learner with a voracious appetite for knowledge that matched Braxus' own, but part of him also enjoyed the hunt, the targets fear. Just one side of the coin that was Kaine.
They quickly branched out from contracting to a far darker career path: marauding. While the young man had brilliance inside him one half was still the visionary while the other was the psychopathic butcher and they battled for dominance every single day. Kaine was a natural born leader easily recognizable by anyone who saw him and got to know him, when Braxus brought him to the most vile dens of degenerates it was Kaine's charisma that caused every man and woman in the building to swear loyalty to him after hearing him speak and a vast band of marauders, vile killers was born. They along with a small flotilla of ships unleashed destruction through the Outer Rim raiding the largest trading routes, carving bloody paths across every world they chose to dock with. They made a name for themselves for never shying away when the law came knocking. Nothing would stand in his way and they butchered any who dared to come after them. The Butcher inside of him hungered for blood and often it caused him to become erratic, easily angered and prone to bouts of explosive rage. Countless villages, towns, even small cities burned when something set him off leading to some of the most horrific acts ever committed by Kaine. They returned home to Panatha during this period where Kaine seduced and married his first wife: Salara Zambrano. Salara would join Kaine and Braxus as they marauded across the galaxy with their band of outlaws.
But the visionary wasn't entirely lost. There was rare times when at night in private the pair would take in a view and have in depth discussions about politics, philosophy, religion, their beliefs, family, and most of all the future. It was clear early on that Kaine had very distinct ideas for where he saw himself going, what he believed. Even in the beginning he was a firm believer in the imperialist ways of his family. Far too often he saw the clear weaknesses in democratic societies and how they were easily corrupted and stomped on, especially by men like them who left many of these societies burning in their wake. Even after the turbulent times the tales of the brilliant Zambrano Kings, and how they reigned in absolute peace. Even how their people prospered during the height of the golden age under Solomon the Black, a height they have not seen before or since.
It took time but eventually under Braxus's tutelage Kaine developed into quite the deadly individual with a myriad of skills, but most of all he learned control and this helped calm the turbulent souls within to form one single cohesive being with both halves merging. This new Kaine sought after greater things beyond the life of a marauder. Only someone who seized their future would succeed and Kaine ended his life as a marauder, ending their band. As they turned the page to a new life their eyes fixed north to the Sith Empire. After his nephews direction Braxus slaughtered ever single person in their band of marauders except for Salara, everyone who knew anything about them and their past were killed. The pair made their way to Sith Space where they enlisted each going through the academy system before being placed. Braxus for his extensive abilities was put through the military's special forces training where he became a commando, part of the elite armed forces of the Imperial Intelligence while Kaine became a Field Agent.
But not even the Sith could deny the greatness within them. Kaine made Special Agent in Charge in no time leading his own team while Braxus rose through the ranks and was assigned as the team leader of the commando team assigned to Kaine, while they met the likes of Arkoh Grevane who became their Chief Interrogator. Braxus introduced Kaine to Izazsh Kylir, a Shi-ido shapeshifter, a woman whose family he earlier killed. Izazsh would eventually become Kaine's wife. Kaine and Braxus proved themselves to be the intelligence agency's best team quickly rising through the ranks. In no time Kaine was made the Minister of Intelligence while Braxus became his Deputy Minister they stood on the mountain top of power for men with untapped skill in the force but that wouldn't hold them back, nothing would. Kaine ascended further beyond the intelligence field making Grand Vizier due in part to his allegiance to Darth Moridin, Braxus was promoted to Minister of Intelligence the second Zambrano to serve in the upper echelon.
It was during this time that Kaines potential was realized by his Sith peers and he was inducted into sith training by Daxton Bane, a Sith Knight who put the young Kaine through brutal trials as he unlocked the vault of true potential in the force. Kaine proved to be unbelievably powerful once he was gifted with the right training, far surpassing even the experienced knight. The young man's hunger for knowledge and virtually unparalleled natural ability allowed him to climb to the rank of Sith Master far faster than any other force sensitive in recent history even before the likes of his own master in the force. The rise of Kaine Zambrano sent ripples through the Sith Order, word spread of a mysterious rising star. Yet many of the Empire's top Sith Lords still overlooked him, and he remained in the shadows. It wasn't long before Sith everywhere would come to know the name of Kaine and the Zambrano family.
As both a Sith Lord and the Minister of Intelligence Kaine Zambrano was in a great position of power within the Empire. No one truly knew just how far his ambitions went, no one truly knew who the mysterious, young towering Sith Lord or his equally massive Deputy Minister were. But Kaine would suffer no rival and he hungered to make a statement to climb out of obscurity and to put his name on the tongues of all his peers, as well as those on the Dark Council. This culminated into what is called the Dorn Conflict beginning on the world of Thule. It was here that a well known, powerful Sith Sorceress by the name of Karin Dorn lived in a great castle, she ruled over the planet. Kaine challenged Karin for power, position, for everything she laid claim to and on the Temple of Hurom they fought. This battle culminated in a victory for the young Zambrano who slew her, casting her down from the Temple. But Karin's malicious spirit remained and she continued to haunt the halls of the temple, a problem enduring even past death. But no one not even Karin Dorn knew how far the sadistic man would go, that his cruelty was boundless.
Kaine carried out a vile plan to draw the spirit of Karin Dorn out of hiding by kidnapping her very own daughter Evelynn Dorn. Kaine brought her back to the temple and began by horrifically torturing her, sending word and a severed finger out to draw the sorceress out of hiding, as well as inflicting terribly psychological torture on Evelynn by killing her kath hound. This act ultimately drew Karin Dorn back in physical form to the temple where a battle was fought in the throne room, in the very same building she had lost everything once before. Kaine brutally cut down the sorceress once again cleaving her head from her shoulders right in front of the woman's daughter. Kaine flayed the flesh of his hated enemies skull and created a chalice out of it as a trophy. But the Zambrano Lord was still not done hammering his supremacy home, he resumed his cruelty on Evelynn by breaking her further even feeding her the meat of her own pet kath hound. Kaine kept Evelynn around as a broken puppet, while the details of what he did to his rival spread. The death of Karin Dorn sent waves through the Sith Empire putting a spotlight on Kaine and the ruthless Zambrano Family, it became evident that Kaine would suffer no rival and everyone associated with those who stood against him would become targets. Kaine was seen as a powerful rival eve to the likes of Darth Moridin, the Triumvir of the Pillar of Strength.
But the Dreadlord was an ambitious man who maneuvered the upper echelon of the Sith Empire into making its leadership a Triumvirate, as well as the inclusion of a Dark Council as part of his ruse. It was all a delicate lie to lay the groundwork for his inevitable rise as sole Emperor. Moridin sought allies to ensure his rise to power would be smooth and one of the very first he went to was a potential rival in Kaine. Instead he turned this potential rival into a powerful ally, assuring the loyalty of Kaine and his deputy and uncle Braxus Zambrano along with many others. Once his powerbase was solidified and the full force of the Intelligence Ministry behind him, his plans were unleashed.
Darth Moridin's Imperial Coup.
For their part in the coup Kaine began to move more elements of his ministry's assault teams back to the capital while Braxus assembled a list of names for all notable targets, those with the position and power who would oppose Moridin. He compiled a target package that would be distributed among Moridin's followers, providing them with the proper clearance to bypass security and reach their enemy. What followed was the most thorough massacre in the modern history of the Sith Empire as hundreds of Sith, military officers, civil servants were killed while they slept or swiftly cut down in a short, brutal ambush. The coup came to an end after Moridin wiped out the Dark Council and was crowned Sith Emperor, his first act was to appoint Kaine Zambrano as his Grand Vizier.
Vizier Zambrano used his newfound position to smooth the rise of Emperor Moridin over with the whole of the Empire. Kaine officially abolished the Dark Council transferring the legislative power to a body of regional governors. He enjoyed a period of prosperity while Braxus Zambrano stepped into his previous position as Minister of intelligence for a time, before assuming the role of Deputy Vizier. Together they were an unstoppable force and the Empire prospered during this time. There were forces at work behind the scenes that the Grand Vizier was forced to contend with, the likes of Darth Desmius and the machinations of the puppet master Darth Voracitos, who pulled the strings of everyone even the Dreadlord himself. There was another name that became heavily involved in the future Butcher-King's life, one that would have a far greater impact than anyone would realize.
Anaya Fen.
The Sith Lady known as Anaya Fen was a crimson skinned twi'lek that came into his life. There was a chemistry, an attraction that bubbled beneath the surface between these two. Kaine Zambrano was teaching her how to be an operative, he saw potential in her. Anaya Fen made quite the impression on the young Kaine, she had gotten under his skin beneath the rough exterior and they hit it off. As time passed attraction bubbled into affection and even love, they became far more than mentor and student. The pair developed as a couple and had a passionate relationship, they fell hard for each other. For one of the first times Kaine let his guard down for someone else and let her into his life. Just as Braxus stood by his nephews side, so too did Anaya she became a trusted confidant that even lived alongside him. They had a promising future together.
But everything came crashing down around him.
After Kaine bore his heart to her his declaration of love and commitment terrified her. Instead of accepting his truth she ripped his heart out and tore it into a million pieces in what became the Great Betrayal. Anaya destroyed Kaine and used his vulnerability to launch a devastating assassination attempt that nearly claimed his life. A brutal, bloody, emotionally charged duel was fought through the halls of his castle on Thule. Anaya came dangerously close to ending his life, but Kaine was able to foil her attempt and managed to get the upper hand, causing her to escape. It was the most devastating betrayal that Kaine had ever suffered. Kaine might've survived the events of the fight but a part of him truly did die in those halls.
The devastating betrayal changed him on a deep, fundamental level. First of the conclusions he came to was that Kaine would never love another again, his capacity for loving others died and a part of his humanity slipped away. He became colder, harder and increasingly distrusting of everyone around him. Kaine became volatile and held more anger, his unstable rage became akin to the infamous black rampages of old he'd slip into. Many friends, allies, and subbordinates suffered and died during this time victims. The only one who truly managed to avoid such rage, who stood beside him and supported him during these tough times was his uncle Braxus.
Braxus took the first steps at protecting his nephew, the first strides at his path to becoming the Lord of Lies then. Kaine spent much of his personal time in deep isolation, part of this time was spent training his uncle as his Apprentice. In a turn of events the former student became the master, and Braxus became a Sith Acolyte. The older Zambrano used his skills to create a protective barrier around Kaine. Between Kaine, Braxus and Doctor Arkoh Grevane the very first class of Blackblade Guard was created. They were a brainwashed, indoctrinated unit of butchers whose humanity was stripped away. The training and conditioning process was designed to make them utterly loyal, painless, emotionless butchers. The very first Blackblade Guard served as Kain Zambrano's personal bodyguard unit.
They were the first barrier between Kaine and the rest of the world. Braxus began to have agents spy on allies, subbordinates among their own ranks, everyone who came into contact with Kaine was tracked. Nothing happened around his nephew that he didn't know, and everyone was suspect. Any potential or suspected threats were eliminated and he expanded the origins of what became his spy network to protect his nephew from further betrayals. There were regular purges while replacements were cultivated from handpicked, bright youth that could be indoctrinated as the Mando-Imperial War broke out in full swing. The Blackblade Guard was vastly expanded its role changed from bodyguards to a force of elite mandalorian killers, a role that further expanded during the later breakout to include Jedi killers as well.
Kaine survived the coup by Ashin Varanin aka Darth Desmius during the height of the Mando-Imperial War. A coup attempt that saw Ashin succeed Darth Moridin as the Second Sith Empress thanks to her plans orchestrated with the then Mand'alor, these actions would have far reaching consequences later. Kaine was able to maintain his position of power through this transition as others did especially Darth Voracitos. Kaine faithfully served Empress Desmius as she lead a massive campaign of expansion that tripled the size of the Sith Empire's borders, bringing countless worlds under the Imperial banner. The Empress's actions during her coup however would have consequences that wouldn't become evident until later.
The Battle of Roche.
Both Zambranos were present on that fateful day in orbit over Roche, when the flagship of Darth Voracitos opened fire on the Sith Empress's position a betrayal that seemingly cost the Empress her life. The Lord of Gluttony who had long been known as the Shadow Emperor for pulling the strings of Moridin, attempting to pull the strings of Desmius. When she wouldn't cooperate he removed her from the equation entirely. In the aftermath of this fight a Dark Council was formed that Kaine managed to get a seat on, a council of the top powers in the Empire consisting of: Darth Voracitos, Anaya Fen, Lord Tirdarius, Sirella Valkner, and Moff Rytek’irk’intrano. The council was merely a transitional authority, a stepping stone that was ultimately disbanded when Lord Voracitos ascended the throne for real, the council relegated from the ruling body to an advisory body for the newly crowned Emperor.
The Sith Empire stagnated during this time with no new territory gained or lost. Kaine continued to expand his own power, furthering the teaching of his uncle while facilitating the demands of Emperor Voracitos for superweapons. The obsession with superweapons would ultimately be Emperor Voracitos's undoing as he brought financial ruin to the Empire, and forced his abdication at the hands of Tyrin Ardik supported by Kaine Zambrano who worked to unseat the Corpulent One. Even from the moment Tyrin Ardik became Sith Emperor his authority was contested across the Empire and beyond. The Galactic Republic attempted to cut his reign short by attacking the Imperial world of Metalorn, their efforts failed when superior imperial force repelled the invaders. This ultimately led to an armistice between the Empire and the Republic, ending a war that started years prior.
The financial situation of the Empire was vastly improved during Ardik's leadership. He pulled the Empire out from the crippling damage caused by Voracitos and outlawed commercial slavery entirely. The old Imperial system of governance was swept away for a system of three Sith Lords who governed the Empire in his name. One of these lords was none other than Kaine. The Zambranos went through many challenges during this time chiefly among them being enslaved by the rogue AI Omni during the Clockwork Rebellion, they fought for Omni until they were freed from his control and Omni destroyed.
Despite the prosperity that Ardik brought his reign was ultimately cut short through the actions of Mikhail Shorn. Shorn defeated the Umbaran in single combat in an event that would become forever known as the Thronebreaking. In a shocking turn of events instead of climbing the throne Shorn appointed Dranok Lussk as Emperor. Lussk was the first Emperor who was appointed to the position by another, instead of ascending the throne himself through a coup. During his short rule the military was improved the navy in particular was upgraded, and the borders of the Empire were secured against threats.
Danger lurked beneath the surface. Kaine Zambrano like the others facilitated the new Emperors demands, however he held a deep hatred for Lussk. Lussk's reign was contested due to the circumstances of his ascension, he never had the spine to claim the throne for himself, to directly rip it from the likes of another. Instead it was simply handed to him like a present. Kaine denounced Lussk's reign as illegitimate and challenged him in the Imperial Palace on Dromund Kaas. This was a duel that culminated in Kaines victory and the very public loss of Lussk through the shattering of his spine.
This victory was the crowning achievement of House Zambrano, Kaine became the first in his families long line to hold the mantle of Sith Emperor. Braxus became the First Apprentice and continued to serve as his nephews chief advisor. As his first act as Emperor Kaine reversed the anti-slavery edicts of Emperor Ardik, resuming the practice throughout the Empire with a targeting of both Togoria and Dac. It was through the leadership of Kaine and the indirect hand of Braxus some of the most horrific atrocities were committed during this time as worlds burned, species wide genocides were carried out and countless other atrocities.
Unfortunately however decades of internal strife came to a head on the eve of the great war between the Republic and the Mandalorian Clans. It was during the Battle of Dac that Emperor Zambrano confronted the entirety of the Jedi Council with his Imperial Guards. He was narrowly defeated and taken into custody, a crippling blow for the Empire. In addition the throneworld of Dromund Kaas was ravaged by the Mandalorian Clans, who plunged it into decades of darkness and frigid winters after a devastating apocalyptic event. While on transit Kaine was rescued from his republic captors however and abdicated his throne soon after. Once he was rescued Braxus orchestrated the abdication and move of House Zambrano, all of its assets, and all of its military might out of Imperial space. A call across the Sith Empire was made for anyone still loyal to the Emperor to meet at a designated point. A vast armada of ships and followers accompanied him when he met up with Kaine. Together the pair bid Thule a final farewell and left the crumbling Imperial space.
Even in this dark time as one great fleet without a home, there was still hope for them. After all these years House Zambrano recovered from the group of sniveling, sycophants bound to their own twisted depravity, living out their insanity in a crumbling estate on a foreign world. They once more rose from the ashes due to the efforts of two of its number Braxus and Kaine, stood as a galactic power. There was only one destination that called their names across the stars, a home that they had been exiled from so long ago. The ancestral home of House Zambrano and the Epicanthix people. The pair decided there was only one place that they could go now it was their destiny.
Panatha.
Together they led their war fleet as one to the Pacanth Reach. They had changed drastically and grown in the thirty years they spend as a team. Kaine was now a Sith Lord and a tested monarch while Braxus was now finally tapping into his gifts as a rising Sith Apprentice. Now he was one with stellar experience as a leader, a powerful reputation, and a massive shadow network of spies. Many years as a mercenary and jedi killer coupled with his genetic traits over time, turned him into a destroyer of even the most formidable of opponents. Even before they came close to home he put his spy network to task. While the fleet stopped close to the Reach he made landfall first and embedded cells on every planet in their home sector, the greatest concentration on Panatha.
Panatha changed much since the days of Braxus's youth. Time had made its mark by washing away much of House Zambranos' past, with the exception of its greatest heroes the family fell into legend and myth where fiction was more prevalent than fact. They were shrouded in haunting ghost stories as all sites formerly known to House Zambrano became condemned. The Dreadfort was a dillapidated ruin cursed by the black magic that once flowed through its halls, blighted as the site of a distant horror, and forbidden by the various city states from anyone ever stepping foot in its halls. They were removed from sight and memory as statues, art, books, any mention to them outside of its most famous heroes was removed. The only place they were truly remembered was Prethia, their former seat of power.
Prethia was run by the renowned House Bruul who had taken over after their liege lords were exiled. It was the only place in all of Panatha that the Zambranos lived on, it became a popular destination for any natives curious in the truth among the fabled legends of Panatha's dark past. The reputation of the mysterious line and the many legends surrounding it ensured Prethia as a popular tourism destination. The city states had all changed drastically since the reign of House Luctacus the capital was officially shifted from Canthar to Gekha, which nearly doubled in size over the years. The world was still under the reign of King Hotep Luctacus a venerable man with a son slated to take over named Nasir.
None of his ideas would ever come to pass.
In one fell swoop House Zambrano returned from their exile back into the court intrigue of Panathan politics as one, unified under Kaine and his uncle Braxus. In his very first meeting with the aging monarch Kaine challenged him to single combat, and annihilated him with his mastery of the Dark Side of the Force. In one act Kaine was declared the King of Panatha as supporters of Luctacus scattered to the winds. Kaine and Braxus began what would be the War of Submission. It began as a campaign to force every city-state to bend the knee and recognize the new King's rule. Some were sympathetic to House Zambrano, those like Prethia and Cropis readily submitted. The city states of Khedal and Gekha openly declared for House Luctacus. The overwhelming forces of House Zambrano crushed resistance except for the sea faring city of Khedal and the heavily fortified capital of Gekha.
A decision was made to split their forces in half with Braxus taking half of their army to Khedal while Kaine took the remaining forces to begin the Siege of Gekha. While the Corsairs of Khedal were a fiercely resistant, and determined force they were no match for the superior technological forces of the two Sith. After just a week of fighting Khedal was crushed and Braxus executed the cities rulers, replacing them with loyalists. The forces of Khedal were brought to bear alongside the Zambrano Army to unite at Gekha, which was now completely surrounded. The heavily fortified capital city of Gekha took three months for even the Zambrano Lords to siege. In the end they too fell and House Luctacus was executed in its entirety for their defiance, the entire city of Gekha was obliterated and its inhabitants slaughtered. Once more order swept across Panatha as the Arch-Kingdom of the Pacanth Reach was established under Kaine and Braxus Zambrano.
They would not be denied.
The Sovereigns would rule over the Pacanth Reach for many years and their loyalty to the Sith Order was absolute. When the One Sith Empire called it was Kaine Zambrano then Darth Vornskr who answered as the Voice of the Dark Lord, with Braxus known as Darth Prazutis as his hand. They would fight alongside the One Sith as they destroyed the forces of good, conquering a vast stellar empire that dominated the galactic core. It was during this turbulent time that saw Kaine Zambrano die for the second time in his life, consumed by corruption following a battle with Gabriel Sionoma. This was not the end for Kaine however as he was brought back to life by his great uncle during the Battle of Lujo. When the Dark Lord fell it was both Darth Prazutis and Darth Vornskr who rose to the ranks of Dark Councilors, rulers who succeeded the fallen Dark Lord. But the winds of time brought the inevitable change, and the One Sith too would fall. House Zambrano escaped the fall of the One Sith before its final death, Kaine Zambrano threw down the name of Darth Vornskr given to him by the Dark Lord, instead taking up the mantle of Darth Carnifex. They escaped before its death throes taking with them a vast array of military and civil assets deep into space, back to Panatha where they would independently rule under the patronage of the First Order.
The Sith Order would rise.
It would be years but eventually the Sith came together under what became the Sith Ascendancy, a union of Sith united under one cause, one banner. They conquered Bastion and an impressive amount of territory. Under the leadership of Darth Carnifex as their Warmaster alongside Darth Prazutis the Lord of Lies, his hand, House Zambrano's efforts caused the Sith Ascendancy doubled in size. Darth Carnifex was an unstoppable force and few could contend with his might, his glory. A secret meeting in deep space of the galaxies Sith Lords saw the Rule of the Sith Brotherhood and the Sith Empire founded, with Darth Carnifex as the new Sith Emperor and Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Prazutis standing ever beside him as the Shadow Hand and Supreme Commander of the Sith-Imperial Military, a massive victory for House Zambrano that was transformed into the galaxies ruling Sith Dynasty, the Imperial Royal Family overnight. A new era was ushered in as the Sith Empire's unstoppable war machine conquered the galactic north. It was through the leadership of House Zambrano that saw the Sith Empire crush the Dominion, the Free Worlds Coalition, the Commenor Systems Alliance during the Great Galactic War.
Emperor Carnifex form an imperial bloc alongside the First Order's Supreme Leader Sieger Ren, and the Galactic Empire's Grand Moff [member="Tanomas Graf"]. House Zambrano played a pivotal role that saw the forces of the light die during the Great Galactic War. It was a war that culminated in Operation Endgame. A three pronged strategic attack on the bloated Galactic Alliance, an assault that saw House Zambrano orchestrate the greatest betrayal in modern galactic memory alongside the Great Deciever [member="Taeli Raaf"], then Grand Marshal who was a Sith Lord and close ally of the Zambrano Family in secret. The Order of Shadows strick a mortal wound against the Galactic Alliance that saw it come crubling down.
In present day House Zambrano continues its reign of terror decimating those who challenge its supremacy, and obliterating any bastion of the light that they can get their hands on. Their past failures are still fresh on their minds and they look ever further into the future, determined to never repeat the past and hold onto their throne.
MODIFICATIONS
- Formatting and Grammatical errors fixed in Hierarchy. Basic translations now all properly italicized.
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